Nomura Holdings Inc. Takes Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,781 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $739,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of THG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,613,952 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $558,934,000 after buying an additional 23,565 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,489,391 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $230,349,000 after buying an additional 4,799 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 28.6% in the fourth 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 last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.2% in 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 buying an additional 43,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 958,858 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $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 Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

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

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock traded up $1.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $168.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 192,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 208,971. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The business's fifty day moving average price is $165.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.51. The firm has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 0.44. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $119.66 and a one year high of $176.16.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 6.83%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

THG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised The Hanover Insurance Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on 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. Wall Street Zen raised The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.50.

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.