Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 609.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,574 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 67,506 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.22% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $13,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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 purchasing an additional 43,918 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 625,527 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $96,744,000 after purchasing an additional 4,168 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 383,670 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $59,338,000 after acquiring an additional 110,944 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at about $64,340,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 324,761 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $50,228,000 after purchasing an additional 5,245 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company's stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of THG stock traded down $4.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $169.31. 64,887 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 251,448. 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 $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.45. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.69 and a 52-week high of $178.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.43.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid 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 yield of 2.1%. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.