Hodges Capital Management Inc. Buys 25,089 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 48.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 76,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,089 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $11,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning grew its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.1% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,525 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $385,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 7,737 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,146,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 14.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,104 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:THG opened at $152.89 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.66 and a 12-month high of $166.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is a positive change from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on THG. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 5,886 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.05, for a total value of $942,054.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,635,810.25. The trade was a 8.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 12,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,951,223 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% 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.