William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 154,277 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $33,034,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.44% of The Hanover Insurance Group as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $756,471,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth about $83,817,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 36.1% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,280,418 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $217,505,000 after buying an additional 339,896 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $69,481,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 37.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 763,431 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $137,967,000 after acquiring an additional 209,616 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler cut The Hanover Insurance Group from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $220.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.71.
Read Our Latest Report on The Hanover Insurance Group
The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 0.1%
THG stock opened at $223.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.66 and a beta of 0.27. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $166.54 and a 12 month high of $236.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.36.
The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The insurance provider reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.84 by $1.47. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 20.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.14%.
The Hanover Insurance Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $700.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Jane D. Carlin sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.50, for a total transaction of $231,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,270 shares of the company's stock, valued at $525,505. The trade was a 30.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Dennis Francis Kerrigan sold 6,551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.79, for a total value of $1,446,395.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,650,142.37. This represents a 35.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 9,655 shares of company stock worth $2,145,846 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.
About The Hanover Insurance Group
(
Free Report)
The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc NYSE: THG is a property and casualty insurance company that provides a range of commercial and personal insurance products. Through its subsidiary companies, Hanover offers coverage for businesses of all sizes, including workers' compensation, general liability, commercial auto, and professional liability. On the personal lines side, the company underwrites homeowners, personal auto, flood, and umbrella policies designed to meet the needs of individuals and families.
In addition to its core commercial and personal insurance offerings, Hanover maintains a specialty arm that focuses on niche markets through tailored product solutions.
Further Reading
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding THG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report).
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