Vest Financial LLC Takes $848,000 Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,873 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $848,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,613,952 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $558,934,000 after acquiring an additional 23,565 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,489,391 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $230,349,000 after purchasing an additional 4,799 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,217,919 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $188,363,000 after purchasing an additional 270,491 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $168,237,000 after purchasing an additional 43,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 958,858 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $148,297,000 after buying an additional 130,054 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of THG stock traded up $1.64 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $171.61. 235,035 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 212,440. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $165.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.53. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.66 and a 12-month high of $178.68. The stock has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 0.45.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.29. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 6.83%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.08 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group's payout ratio is 29.98%.

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, CEO John C. Roche sold 200 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.01, for a total value of $35,002.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 124,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,749,892.78. This trade represents a 0.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.60, for a total value of $1,753,631.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,942.40. The trade was a 28.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,027 shares of company stock valued at $1,841,309. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $163.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $179.50.

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.