Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Makes New Investment in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in THG. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,612 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,715,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 1st quarter worth $702,000. Trust Point Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 1st quarter worth $64,340,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,512,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $170.62 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $167.91 and a 200-day moving average of $162.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 0.45. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.10 and a 1-year high of $178.68.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 18.23% and a net margin of 6.98%. The company’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 29.98%.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, CEO John C. Roche sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.01, for a total transaction of $35,002.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,749,892.78. This trade represents a 0.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.60, for a total transaction of $1,753,631.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,864 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,942.40. The trade was a 28.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,027 shares of company stock valued at $1,841,309. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on THG shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $163.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.50.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

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.