The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Shares Sold by Boston Partners

Boston Partners lowered its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,005 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,501 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $2,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,276 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $971,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 9,703 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,501,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1,526.6% during the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 16,233 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,511,000 after purchasing an additional 15,235 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Down 0.5 %

THG opened at $170.21 on Friday. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.66 and a 1 year high of $173.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $161.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 0.65.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 18.01%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on THG. Barclays upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $176.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.25.

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.