The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Shares Acquired by Trust Point Inc.

Trust Point Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,226 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 185 shares during the quarter. Trust Point Inc.’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 48.8% during the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 76,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,832,000 after buying an additional 25,089 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,669 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth $293,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 20,483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,168,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,684 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

THG has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott cut The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $174.88.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE:THG opened at $159.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.66 and a 1 year high of $166.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.69.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.45 by $1.87. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. Equities analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 35.71%.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related 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 transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,100 shares of company stock worth $1,951,223. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Hanover Insurance Group Company Profile

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.