Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Invests $568,000 in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Key Points

• Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased 3,263 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, valued at approximately $568,000, signaling growing institutional interest in the company.
• The Hanover Insurance Group's recent quarterly earnings surpassed analysts' expectations, reporting $4.35 per share against a consensus estimate of $3.07.
• Wall Street analysts have shown a generally positive outlook on THG, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.13.

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,263 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 45.1% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 13,143 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,286,000 after buying an additional 4,084 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 389,634 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $67,777,000 after buying an additional 21,588 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,635,173 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $632,338,000 after buying an additional 21,221 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.8% in the first quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 4,886 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 14.4% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 2,733 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on THG shares. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JMP Securities set a $205.00 target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $188.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

NYSE:THG traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $169.64. 211,342 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 276,144. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $131.63 and a twelve month high of $178.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $167.72 and a 200 day moving average of $165.90.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.07 by $1.28. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.24%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.70%.

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.