The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Stake Lowered by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Heartland Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 64,387 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 5,279 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $9,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in THG. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,290 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,437 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,928,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 72,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $11,250,000 after acquiring an additional 3,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,613,952 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $558,934,000 after acquiring an additional 23,565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $174.56 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $163.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.91. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $119.66 and a one year high of $175.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.65.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 30.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.