Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 13,030 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,623,766 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,030 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.12% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $439,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 760,775 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $92,374,000 after acquiring an additional 14,609 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 75.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 965,374 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $117,217,000 after acquiring an additional 414,993 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,900,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 149.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 417,767 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $50,725,000 after acquiring an additional 250,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 321.8% in the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 51,519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,718,000 after acquiring an additional 39,306 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $122.22 on Thursday. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $103.82 and a 12 month high of $138.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $130.02 and its 200-day moving average is $129.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.40 and a beta of 0.70.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The insurance provider reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.47. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 7.00% and a net margin of 2.67%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Equities research analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.23%.

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, Director Jane D. Carlin sold 1,119 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.25, for a total value of $147,987.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Willard T. Lee sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.94, for a total transaction of $135,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,398 shares in the company, valued at $597,864.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jane D. Carlin sold 1,119 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.25, for a total value of $147,987.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

THG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $147.00 price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.00.

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.