HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 13.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,838 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,492 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $2,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 331.4% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $53,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 81.7% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 307 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 47.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of THG opened at $175.4140 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $167.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.82. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.49 and a 12-month high of $178.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.07 by $1.28. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 20.24% and a net margin of 8.67%.The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $188.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JMP Securities set a $205.00 price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.13.

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.