The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Shares Acquired by Holocene Advisors LP

Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,128 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,826 shares during the quarter. Holocene Advisors LP owned 0.06% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $3,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Markel Group Inc. grew its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 254,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,620,000 after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 369,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,733,000 after purchasing an additional 17,856 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the second quarter worth about $681,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $431,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 48.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,843 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 3,840 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE THG opened at $164.26 on Friday. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.36 and a 1 year high of $166.13. The firm has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $155.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.90 dividend. This is a positive change from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 12,000 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.08, for a total transaction of $1,860,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,249,392.28. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,551 shares of company stock worth $4,781,935. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer upped 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. JMP Securities increased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley began coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.29.

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.