Arizona State Retirement System Sells 177 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Arizona State Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,995 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 177 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $1,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth $51,392,000. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth $16,231,000. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 430,645 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,793,000 after purchasing an additional 101,823 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth $10,944,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 56,753.3% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 93,808 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,603,000 after purchasing an additional 93,643 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Warren E. Barnes sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $65,570.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,677.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of THG stock opened at $128.43 on Monday. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $103.82 and a 1-year high of $138.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $131.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 136.63 and a beta of 0.67.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.62. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 2.44% and a net margin of 0.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. On average, research analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 361.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on THG. TheStreet upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $147.00 price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.83.

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.