London Co. of Virginia Sells 4,303 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

London Co. of Virginia lowered its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 469,647 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,303 shares during the quarter. London Co. of Virginia owned about 1.30% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $72,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 91.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 502.1% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 226.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 339 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company's stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:THG traded up $2.50 on Friday, hitting $168.43. The company had a trading volume of 158,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 207,827. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.66 and a 1-year high of $176.16. The stock has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $165.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The Hanover Insurance Group's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.08 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.98%.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, CEO John C. Roche sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.01, for a total transaction of $35,002.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,278 shares in the company, valued at $21,749,892.78. This represents a 0.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.60, for a total transaction of $1,753,631.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,864 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,942.40. This trade represents a 28.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,027 shares of company stock valued at $1,841,309. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

THG has been the topic of several analyst reports. JMP Securities upped 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.50.

The Hanover Insurance Group 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.