United Services Automobile Association Acquires New Stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, purchasing 2,352 shares valued at approximately $406,000 in the first quarter.
• The Hanover Insurance Group reported a Q2 earnings per share of $4.35, exceeding the consensus estimate of $3.07, with revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, with a payout ratio of 23.70%, set to be paid on September 26th.

United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,352 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 331.4% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 302 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 307 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 819.0% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 386 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

THG has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley increased 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 raised The Hanover Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $188.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JMP Securities set a $205.00 price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock traded down $1.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $180.47. The company had a trading volume of 188,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 179,579. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $142.48 and a one year high of $182.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 0.46.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

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