Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 857 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,068 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 857 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $1,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the fourth quarter worth about $21,797,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,612,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 164,130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $24,309,000 after buying an additional 47,071 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the fourth quarter worth $5,276,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the fourth quarter worth $4,903,000. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE THG opened at $172.53 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $162.10 and a 200-day moving average of $156.48. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.66 and a 1-year high of $173.30.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.45 by $1.87. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 6.83%. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 30.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on THG. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $176.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.25.

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.