Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 172,605 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp reduced its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 50% in the second quarter, selling 172,605 shares and retaining 172,769 shares valued at approximately $29.35 million.
• The Hanover Insurance Group reported earnings of $4.35 per share for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $3.07, while revenue slightly fell short at $1.58 billion against a forecast of $1.60 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $3.60 and a yield of 2.0%, with a payout ratio of 23.70%.

Boston Trust Walden Corp lessened its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 172,769 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 172,605 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 0.48% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $29,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.8% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,255 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 6.7% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 1,063 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.8% in the first quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 20.3% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 468 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Somerset Trust Co lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 7.1% during the second quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 1,265 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company's stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

NYSE:THG opened at $177.55 on Wednesday. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.17 and a 1 year high of $186.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $176.20 and a 200-day moving average of $169.80. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.44.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 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 previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. The Hanover Insurance Group's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The Hanover Insurance Group's payout ratio is 23.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated 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. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating 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 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $188.00.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

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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