Barclays PLC Purchases 7,662 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Barclays PLC increased its position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 28.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,817 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 7,662 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.10% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $5,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of THG. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 15,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,427,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth $8,612,000. Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 818.6% in the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 16,554 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,560,000 after purchasing an additional 14,752 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,604 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,485,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth about $264,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on THG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $179.00 to $171.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on 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. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.00.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:THG traded up $0.44 on Thursday, hitting $166.54. 77,347 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 204,477. The company has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.50. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.66 and a 52 week high of $176.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John C. Roche sold 301 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $52,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,414 shares in the company, valued at $21,772,450. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is 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.