Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 13,118 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 10.7% in Q1, now owning roughly 109,251 shares valued at approximately $19 million.
• The Hanover Insurance Group reported $4.35 EPS for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations by $1.28, with a revenue of $1.58 billion.
• Wall Street analysts have given The Hanover Insurance Group an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target averaging around $185.13.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 10.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,251 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 13,118 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.30% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $19,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 331.4% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 302 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 81.7% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 307 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 47.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $188.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JMP Securities set a $205.00 price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

The Hanover Insurance Group stock traded up $2.5010 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $172.2310. 162,763 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 269,011. 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 Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.93 and a twelve month high of $178.68. The company has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $167.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.42.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.07 by $1.28. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 20.24% and a net margin of 8.67%.The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group's payout ratio is 23.70%.

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.