Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 660,272 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,800 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $97,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of THG. Barclays PLC increased its stake 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 valued at $4,022,000 after purchasing an additional 10,341 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 9.4% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 15,779 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 56.3% in the third quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,615,000 after buying an additional 18,524 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 27,321 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,047,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the company’s 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 29,051 shares of company stock worth $4,556,803 in the last ninety days. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

THG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott cut 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Four 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 company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.29.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

THG stock opened at $150.10 on Thursday. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.36 and a 1 year high of $166.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.69.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 35.71%.

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.