GAMMA Investing LLC Has $52,000 Stock Holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 226.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 339 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 235 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $52,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter worth about $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter worth about $60,000. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. JMP Securities raised their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.88.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:THG opened at $149.87 on Tuesday. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.66 and a fifty-two week 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.29.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.90 dividend. This is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 35.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $992,669.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 54,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,782,214.76. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,100 shares of company stock worth $3,812,183. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

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.