Markel Group Inc. Purchases 13,000 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Markel Group Inc. lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 280,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc. owned 0.78% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $48,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of THG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,613,952 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $558,934,000 after buying an additional 23,565 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,489,391 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $230,349,000 after acquiring an additional 4,799 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,217,919 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $188,363,000 after buying an additional 270,491 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,087,786 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $168,237,000 after acquiring an additional 43,918 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 958,858 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $148,297,000 after buying an additional 130,054 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of the firm'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 owned 25,864 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,942.40. This trade represents a 28.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

The Hanover Insurance Group stock traded down $1.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $164.48. The company had a trading volume of 176,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,061. The firm has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $130.44 and a one year high of $178.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $168.31 and a 200 day moving average of $164.26.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.29. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 18.23% and a net margin of 6.98%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.08 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group's payout ratio is 29.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on THG shares. 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. Wall Street Zen raised The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley raised 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 report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.38.

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.