Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 172 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,604 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 172 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,704 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 3,952 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the first quarter worth approximately $674,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 88.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 5,278 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 235.4% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,070 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on HIG. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $77.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Citigroup upped their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.56.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 46,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.71, for a total transaction of $3,965,952.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,180 shares in the company, valued at $14,415,947.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 27,004 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.90, for a total value of $2,670,695.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,906 shares in the company, valued at $1,869,803.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 46,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.71, for a total value of $3,965,952.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,415,947.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 249,082 shares of company stock valued at $22,404,321. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Down 2.0 %

HIG opened at $95.78 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $28.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.89. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.05 and a 52 week high of $103.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.97.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $6.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is 23.53%.

About The Hartford Financial Services Group

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and financial services to individual and business customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. Its Commercial Lines segment offers insurance coverages, including workers' compensation, property, automobile, general and professional liability, package business, umbrella, fidelity and surety, marine, livestock, accident, health, and reinsurance through regional offices, branches, sales and policyholder service centers, independent retail agents and brokers, wholesale agents, and reinsurance brokers.