Bank of America Corp DE Sells 42,732 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 19.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 176,271 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 42,732 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.49% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $27,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 91.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4,675.0% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 382 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth $68,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth $72,000. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $163.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays raised The Hanover Insurance Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JMP Securities increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.50.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE THG traded up $1.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $168.50. The company had a trading volume of 192,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 208,971. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.66 and a 12-month high of $176.16. The stock has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 0.44. The business's 50-day moving average is $165.33 and its 200 day moving average is $161.51. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 6.83%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. The Hanover Insurance Group's payout ratio is currently 29.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.60, for a total transaction of $1,753,631.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,864 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,308,942.40. This represents a 28.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. Roche sold 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.01, for a total value of $35,002.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,749,892.78. The trade was a 0.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,027 shares of company stock valued at $1,841,309 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.