International Assets Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

International Assets Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 99.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,730 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 548,720 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,261 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,162,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.0% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,028 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 68,125.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,729 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $294,000. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 17,985 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,348 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on THG shares. Bank of America raised their price objective 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 lifted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.88.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of THG opened at $147.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $157.61 and a 200 day moving average of $145.79. The company has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 0.72. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.66 and a 52-week high of $166.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.41 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.71%.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.08, for a total value of $1,860,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,249,392.28. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,900 shares of company stock worth $4,534,151. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.