Voya Investment Management LLC Buys 28,959 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 94.2%, acquiring an additional 28,959 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total to 59,699 shares valued at approximately $10.4 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their stakes, with 86.61% of the company's stock now owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• The Hanover Insurance Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.90 to be paid on September 26th, representing a 2.1% yield and a payout ratio of 23.70%.

Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 94.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,699 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 28,959 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.17% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $10,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 6.7% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 1,063 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.8% during the first quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.8% during the first quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 4,886 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.2% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,632 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,502,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.0% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,100 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,757,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on THG shares. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JMP Securities set a $205.00 price target on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of THG stock opened at $174.46 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $171.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.52. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $142.48 and a one year high of $182.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 0.46. 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 Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.70%.

The Hanover Insurance Group Company 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.

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