The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Shares Purchased by Trust Point Inc.

Trust Point Inc. raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,226 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc.’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 76,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $11,832,000 after purchasing an additional 25,089 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,669 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $293,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 20,483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,168,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,684 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $992,669.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 54,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,782,214.76. This represents a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,951,223. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities upped their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America upped their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $174.88.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of THG opened at $159.92 on Thursday. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $119.66 and a 12 month high of $166.13. The company has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $155.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.45 by $1.87. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.90 dividend. This is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.71%.

The Hanover Insurance Group 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.