Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 7,103 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 32,284 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 7,103 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $4,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 502.1% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America lifted 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 research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.88.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of THG stock opened at $156.30 on Friday. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.66 and a 52-week high of $166.13. The business’s fifty day moving average is $157.69 and its 200 day moving average is $147.18. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 0.72.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued 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 of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $992,669.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 54,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,782,214.76. This represents a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,100 shares of company stock worth $1,951,223. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.