The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Stock Holdings Increased by Cetera Investment Advisers

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 62.7%, now owning 6,692 shares valued at approximately $1.16 million.
• Analysts have upgraded their ratings for The Hanover Insurance Group, with a consensus target price of $185.13 and multiple brokerages issuing buy ratings.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.35, exceeding estimates of $3.07, and expects a yearly EPS of 14.37.

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 62.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,692 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,578 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $1,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. 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. lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 625,527 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $96,744,000 after purchasing an additional 4,168 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position 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 worth $59,338,000 after purchasing an additional 110,944 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the first quarter worth approximately $64,340,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 324,761 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $50,228,000 after purchasing an additional 5,245 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on THG. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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, August 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. 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 on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JMP Securities set a $205.00 price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, 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. Four equities research 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 Hanover Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:THG opened at $169.60 on Tuesday. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $131.29 and a 12 month high of $178.68. The firm has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company's 50 day moving average is $167.87 and its 200-day moving average is $165.87.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given 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 (DPR) is currently 23.70%.

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.

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