The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Shares Sold by Peregrine Capital Management LLC

Peregrine Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,889 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,342 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned 0.10% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $5,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,022,000 after purchasing an additional 10,341 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at $201,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 104.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,967 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,772,000 after acquiring an additional 6,112 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 82.4% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,702,000 after acquiring an additional 5,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 4th quarter worth $1,046,000. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

THG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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 research report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, JMP Securities lifted 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 research report on Thursday, October 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.25.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of THG opened at $160.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 0.72. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $155.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.42. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.66 and a 52 week high of $166.98.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.90 dividend. This is a positive change from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.80%.

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.