The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Reaches New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $148.46 and last traded at $147.11, with a volume of 18738 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $146.99.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on THG shares. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $147.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.80.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $133.23 and a 200-day moving average of $131.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.03 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 12.42%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.91) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 10.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Richard W. Lavey sold 8,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.01, for a total value of $1,219,476.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,224,826.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Warren E. Barnes sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.25, for a total transaction of $69,125.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $416,547.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard W. Lavey sold 8,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.01, for a total transaction of $1,219,476.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,826.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,852 shares of company stock valued at $1,541,491 in the last quarter. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,623,766 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $439,998,000 after buying an additional 13,030 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.5% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,341,253 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $168,247,000 after purchasing an additional 70,161 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,008,866 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,377,000 after purchasing an additional 16,040 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 75.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 965,374 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $117,217,000 after purchasing an additional 414,993 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 802,033 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,607,000 after purchasing an additional 33,249 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides various property and casualty insurance products and services in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Core Commercial, Specialty, Personal Lines, and Other. The Commercial Lines segment offers commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, workers' compensation, and other commercial lines coverage.