Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 4.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 798,109 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,536 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 2.22% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $100,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,623,766 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $439,998,000 after purchasing an additional 13,030 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,341,253 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $168,247,000 after acquiring an additional 70,161 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,008,866 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,377,000 after acquiring an additional 16,040 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake 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 worth $117,217,000 after acquiring an additional 414,993 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 802,033 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,607,000 after purchasing an additional 33,249 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities upped their price target 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. Bank of America dropped their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $147.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.80.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of THG stock opened at $148.81 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.03 and a 12-month high of $150.95. The business’s 50 day moving average is $139.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.90. The company has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.37 and a beta of 0.70.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 12.42% and a net margin of 4.44%. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.91) EPS. Analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 10.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 1,200 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total value of $180,132.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,906,908.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total value of $180,132.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,983 shares in the company, valued at $12,906,908.13. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $45,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 89,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,459,950. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,352 shares of company stock worth $1,766,623 in 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.