First Trust Advisors LP Raises Holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 28.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 639,264 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 141,835 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 1.80% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $116,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $77,169,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 36.1% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,280,418 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $217,505,000 after acquiring an additional 339,896 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake 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 during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,409,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 553,815 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $93,190,000 after acquiring an additional 96,006 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on THG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $207.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.60.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

NYSE:THG opened at $177.94 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $175.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 0.31. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $147.76 and a 12-month high of $188.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The insurance provider reported $5.46 EPS for the quarter. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 10.05%.The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter. Equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 20.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Richard W. Lavey sold 24,420 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.92, for a total value of $4,369,226.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,756,572.08. The trade was a 43.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jane D. Carlin sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.91, for a total transaction of $217,092.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $438,344.93. The trade was a 33.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

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.