XTX Topco Ltd Increases Stock Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 33.5%, bringing its total shares to 6,733, valued at approximately $1.17 million.
• The Hanover Insurance Group's stock price recently fell by 1.7% to $168.69, following a strong earnings report beat where it posted $4.35 EPS, surpassing expectations.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.1% and a payout ratio of 23.70%.

XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 33.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,733 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,691 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $1,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of THG. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,163 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. raised its holdings in 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 worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 15,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,427,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.2% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,632 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,502,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.0% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,100 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 25,864 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,308,942.40. This represents a 28.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

The Hanover Insurance Group stock traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $171.93. 40,024 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 251,698. The company's fifty day moving average is $168.27 and its 200-day moving average is $165.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.45. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.60 and a 52 week high of $178.68.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.07 by $1.28. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.24%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

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

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.