Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $94.95 Million Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. has reduced its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 17.6%, holding $94.95 million worth, after selling 116,968 shares in the first quarter.
• The Hanover Insurance Group reported $4.35 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates by $1.28.
• Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy average rating for the stock, with a consensus price target of $185.13.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 17.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 545,817 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 116,968 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 1.52% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $94,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the first quarter worth approximately $64,340,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 45.1% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 907,760 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $157,905,000 after buying an additional 282,233 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 75.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 287,356 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $44,443,000 after buying an additional 123,793 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 1,575.5% in the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 129,848 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $20,082,000 after buying an additional 122,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 383,670 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $59,338,000 after buying an additional 110,944 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

THG has been the topic of several recent research reports. JMP Securities set a $205.00 price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Up 0.0%

The Hanover Insurance Group stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $173.47. The stock had a trading volume of 183,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 192,409. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $168.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.21. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.37 and a twelve month high of $178.68. 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 firm has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.46.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is 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.