Channing Capital Management LLC Sells 35,730 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Key Points

• Channing Capital Management LLC sold 35,730 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, decreasing its position by 47.5% in the first quarter.
• The Hanover Insurance Group reported an EPS of $4.35 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates of $3.07, while revenue was up 3.1% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.1% and a payout ratio of 23.70%.

Channing Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 47.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,525 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 35,730 shares during the quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $6,875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at $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 valued at $14,418,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during 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 valued at $19,592,000 after acquiring an additional 7,661 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 3,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,996 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on THG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $188.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JMP Securities set a $205.00 price target on The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:THG traded up $0.05 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $173.24. 52,215 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 246,566. 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 fifty-two week low of $136.22 and a fifty-two week high of $178.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $167.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.88. The stock has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.45.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 company 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 was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The Hanover Insurance Group's payout ratio is 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.