Markel Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Markel Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 267,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,000 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $41,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 10.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,484,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $219,883,000 after acquiring an additional 143,339 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,239,701 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $183,612,000 after acquiring an additional 3,780 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 660,272 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $97,816,000 after buying an additional 16,800 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 369,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,733,000 after buying an additional 17,856 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 349,125 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,996,000 after buying an additional 24,290 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of THG opened at $163.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 0.65. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.66 and a twelve month high of $173.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $158.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.46.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 30.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on THG. Barclays raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $176.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.