Channing Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in 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 trimmed its position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 47.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,525 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 35,730 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC owned about 0.11% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $6,875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of THG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,635,173 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $632,338,000 after purchasing an additional 21,221 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.2% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 907,760 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $157,905,000 after purchasing an additional 282,233 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 389,634 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $67,777,000 after purchasing an additional 21,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 40.7% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE:THG traded down $2.6310 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $172.9790. The company's stock had a trading volume of 158,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,801. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $167.76 and a 200-day moving average of $166.82. 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 52-week low of $136.22 and a 52-week high of $178.68.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 20.24% and a net margin of 8.67%.The Hanover Insurance Group'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 company posted $1.88 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

THG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities set a $205.00 price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.