Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,560 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 265 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at $60,000. Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.8% in the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 254,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,620,000 after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 7.8% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,734 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 47.7% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,383 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at $223,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Down 1.6 %

THG stock opened at $166.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 0.65. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $119.66 and a 12 month high of $173.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $158.54 and its 200 day moving average is $154.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 30.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $176.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of 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. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.25.

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.