The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 19.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 632,026 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 148,533 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 1.76% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $109,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth about $67,928,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the first quarter worth about $64,340,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,217,919 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $188,363,000 after buying an additional 270,491 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 15.7% in the fourth 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. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 75.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 287,356 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $44,443,000 after buying an additional 123,793 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $163.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.38.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

The Hanover Insurance Group stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $165.41. The stock had a trading volume of 179,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,225. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm's 50 day moving average is $168.31 and its 200 day moving average is $164.26. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $130.44 and a one year high of $178.68.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 18.23%. The business's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The Hanover Insurance Group's payout ratio is 29.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.60, for a total transaction of $1,753,631.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,942.40. This represents a 28.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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.