Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 69,155 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments reduced its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 9.2%, selling 69,155 shares during the second quarter, leaving it with approximately 685,642 shares valued at $114.7 million.
• The Hanover Insurance Group reported earnings of $4.35 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates of $3.07, though revenue was slightly lower than expected at $1.58 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.90, resulting in an annualized dividend of $3.60 and a dividend yield of 2.0%.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 9.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 685,642 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 69,155 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 1.91% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $114,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the first quarter worth $209,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 82,886 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $14,418,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 7.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 112,632 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,592,000 after acquiring an additional 7,661 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 881.5% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 3,926 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 3,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthquest Corp acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the first quarter worth $869,000. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company's stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $176.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.17 and a 12-month high of $186.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.44.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 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 analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on THG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JMP Securities set a $205.00 price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $188.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $188.00.

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.

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