Vest Financial LLC Has $2.09 Million Holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 152.3% in the second quarter, acquiring 12,295 shares valued at $2.09 million.
• Wall Street analysts have a mixed outlook, with seven rating the stock as a Buy and three as a Hold, while the average price target is set at $188.00.
• The Hanover Insurance Group reported a strong earnings per share of $4.35 for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analyst expectations.

Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 152.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,295 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 7,422 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $2,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 819.0% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 386 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 20.3% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 468 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 47.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on THG. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded 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. JMP Securities set a $205.00 price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $188.00.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $177.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.80. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.17 and a 12-month high of $186.46. The company has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.44. 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 (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.07 by $1.28. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 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, sell-side 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio 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.

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