Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Acquires 1,483 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 38.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,301 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,483 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HIG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter worth about $416,340,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 265.5% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,213,074 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $132,710,000 after purchasing an additional 881,224 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,264,397 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $247,761,000 after purchasing an additional 735,170 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 437.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 871,318 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,322,000 after purchasing an additional 709,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 11,904.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 631,565 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 626,304 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HIG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $140.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Financial Services Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total transaction of $1,539,773.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,661.60. This represents a 29.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 1,144 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $143,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,385,250. The trade was a 0.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,429 shares of company stock worth $13,618,028 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

NYSE:HIG opened at $127.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $119.54 and a 200-day moving average of $115.80. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.16 and a 52 week high of $129.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.97 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.74%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Company Profile

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.