The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG Shares Acquired by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its ownership in The Hanover Insurance Group by 9.3%, holding approximately $163.6 million in stock, following the purchase of 80,262 additional shares in the first quarter.
• A number of large investors have also increased their stakes, with AQR Capital Management's stake rising 59.3% to $79 million and Adage Capital Partners increasing theirs by 26.3% to $63 million.
• The Hanover Insurance Group reported earnings per share of $4.35 for the latest quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.90, yielding 2.0%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 940,522 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 80,262 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 2.62% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $163,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HM Payson & Co. boosted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 1,063 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA lifted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 4,886 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $850,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,632 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,502,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,100 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on THG shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised The Hanover Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $188.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JMP Securities set a $205.00 price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:THG traded up $0.25 during trading on Monday, hitting $177.87. The company had a trading volume of 167,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 181,865. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $142.48 and a one year high of $181.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.93. The stock has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

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

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The Hanover Insurance Group's payout ratio is 23.70%.

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.