Vest Financial LLC Acquires 7,422 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 152.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,295 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,422 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $2,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 13,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 6,284 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,445 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 6,436 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $8,782,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

THG opened at $177.55 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $176.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.80. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.17 and a 1 year high of $186.46. The firm has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.44.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on THG. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, JMP Securities set a $205.00 target price on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $188.00.

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.