Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 451 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,001 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 451 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $1,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in THG. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 91.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 502.1% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, CEO John C. Roche sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.01, for a total transaction of $35,002.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,749,892.78. This represents a 0.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:THG opened at $172.55 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.26. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.66 and a 52 week high of $176.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 0.65.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.45 by $1.87. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 18.01%. On average, 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.80%.

The Hanover Insurance Group Company 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.