Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Raises Holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its ownership in The Hanover Insurance Group by 26.3%, acquiring a total of 365,000 shares valued at approximately $63.49 million.
• Wall Street analysts have given The Hanover Insurance Group a consensus target price of $185.13, with ratings including six "Buy" and four "Hold" recommendations following positive performance in earnings reports.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.90, representing a 2.0% yield, scheduled to be paid on September 26th.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 26.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 365,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 76,100 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 1.02% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $63,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the first quarter worth approximately $209,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 82,886 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $14,418,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 7.3% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 112,632 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,592,000 after acquiring an additional 7,661 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 881.5% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 3,926 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 3,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,351 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on THG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $188.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JMP Securities set a $205.00 price target on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE THG traded down $3.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $177.58. The company had a trading volume of 194,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 183,708. The company has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.46. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.48 and a 1 year high of $181.38. 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's 50-day moving average price is $169.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.72.

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, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.