The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Price Target Raised to $185.00

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $185.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $188.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities set a $205.00 target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:THG opened at $168.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 12 month low of $130.60 and a 12 month high of $178.68. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $168.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.23.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.07 by $1.28. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 14.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.60, for a total value of $1,753,631.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,864 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,942.40. This trade represents a 28.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Hanover Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 47.7% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 11,915 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,843,000 after buying an additional 3,847 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 72,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,250,000 after purchasing an additional 3,573 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the fourth quarter worth $67,928,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,437 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $841,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,290 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.