The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Stock Position Boosted by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 965 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 502.1% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. JMP Securities raised 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.88.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

THG opened at $157.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $157.44 and a 200-day moving average of $147.79. 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 Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.66 and a 12-month high of $166.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total transaction of $992,669.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,782,214.76. This trade represents a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 12,100 shares of company stock worth $1,951,223 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.