Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Cuts Stock Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,638 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 745 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 10.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,484,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $219,883,000 after purchasing an additional 143,339 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,239,701 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $183,612,000 after buying an additional 3,780 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 997,011 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $147,667,000 after buying an additional 4,717 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 660,272 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $97,816,000 after buying an additional 16,800 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 14,711.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 552,450 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $81,823,000 after acquiring an additional 548,720 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on THG shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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 note on Friday, January 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.88.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of THG opened at $153.43 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22 and a beta of 0.72. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.66 and a 52-week high of $166.13. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $156.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.41.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The business 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 posted $0.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is a positive change from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.71%.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total transaction of $992,669.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,782,214.76. This trade represents a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,100 shares of company stock worth $1,951,223. Corporate 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.