Verition Fund Management LLC Has $298,000 Stock Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Verition Fund Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 95.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,010 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 42,546 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 104.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,967 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,772,000 after acquiring an additional 6,112 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 254,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,620,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 170,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,270,000 after purchasing an additional 17,583 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 369,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,733,000 after buying an additional 17,856 shares during the period. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $681,000. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

THG opened at $154.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29 and a beta of 0.71. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.36 and a 52-week high of $166.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $45,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 89,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,459,950. The trade was a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,551 shares of company stock valued at $4,781,935. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on THG. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley began coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price 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. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.29.

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.