Osaic Holdings Inc. Grows Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 146.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,998 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,154 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc.’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $1,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $77,169,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 36.1% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,280,418 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $217,505,000 after buying an additional 339,896 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 166.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 346,275 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,235,000 after buying an additional 216,427 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 52.9% during the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 558,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $94,787,000 after acquiring an additional 193,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 59.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 457,809 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $79,032,000 after acquiring an additional 170,453 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on THG shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $198.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Denise Lowsley sold 1,619 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.47, for a total value of $293,799.93. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $637,141.17. This represents a 31.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE THG opened at $182.64 on Friday. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.17 and a 12-month high of $188.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.33.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $5.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.30. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.73% and a net margin of 9.71%.The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

The Hanover Insurance Group Company Profile

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc (NYSE: THG) is a property and casualty insurance company that provides a range of commercial and personal insurance products. Through its subsidiary companies, Hanover offers coverage for businesses of all sizes, including workers’ compensation, general liability, commercial auto, and professional liability. On the personal lines side, the company underwrites homeowners, personal auto, flood, and umbrella policies designed to meet the needs of individuals and families.

In addition to its core commercial and personal insurance offerings, Hanover maintains a specialty arm that focuses on niche markets through tailored product solutions.