Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 148,533 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 19.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 632,026 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 148,533 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 1.76% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $109,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth about $8,612,000. Amundi grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 8,192 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,249,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,031 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,397,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 91.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 70,700 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $10,934,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.60, for a total value of $1,753,631.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,864 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,308,942.40. The trade was a 28.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

THG opened at $163.70 on Thursday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $168.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 0.44. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.44 and a 52-week high of $178.68.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.29. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 18.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.08 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.20%. The Hanover Insurance Group's payout ratio is 29.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on THG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $188.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $163.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a 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 company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.38.

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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