MQS Management LLC Buys 1,627 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

MQS Management LLC lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 60.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,309 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,627 shares during the quarter. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 75.4% during 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 bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,900,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings 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 worth $50,725,000 after buying an additional 250,254 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 1,294.6% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 145,089 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,617,000 after buying an additional 134,685 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised 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 acquiring an additional 70,161 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

NYSE:THG opened at $149.58 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.38. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.03 and a 1 year high of $150.68. The company has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.54 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.88. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 12.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.91) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 10.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 76.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Warren E. Barnes sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.25, for a total transaction of $69,125.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $416,547.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, Director Kathy S. Lane sold 1,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.23, for a total transaction of $252,889.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Warren E. Barnes sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.25, for a total value of $69,125.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,547.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,852 shares of company stock valued at $1,541,491 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

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.