The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,080 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,068 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $4,455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the first quarter valued at about $208,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.2% during the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,871 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,669 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after buying an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $619,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,271 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $661,000 after acquiring an additional 1,544 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of THG stock opened at $160.81 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $155.29 and a 200 day moving average of $141.41. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.36 and a 1 year high of $166.13. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95 and a beta of 0.71.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 35.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.08, for a total value of $1,860,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,249,392.28. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 30,551 shares of company stock valued at $4,781,935 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on THG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America boosted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.