The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Shares Acquired by Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,583 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $1,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of THG. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 502.1% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of THG opened at $153.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s fifty day moving average is $156.92 and its 200-day moving average is $148.07. 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 (NYSE:THG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $992,669.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,782,214.76. This represents a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 12,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,951,223 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

THG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.88.

The Hanover Insurance Group 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.