Markel Group Inc. Buys 25,000 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Markel Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 214,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc. owned about 0.60% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $25,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Leeward Investments LLC MA increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 126,866 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $15,404,000 after purchasing an additional 14,686 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,050 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,220,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 106,278 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,904,000 after acquiring an additional 27,178 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 68,119 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,271,000 after acquiring an additional 9,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on THG. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. TheStreet upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $147.00 target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.83.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Down 1.3 %

THG stock traded down $1.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $129.59. The company had a trading volume of 186,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 163,441. The stock has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of 139.54 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $131.20 and a 200-day moving average of $125.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $103.82 and a one year high of $138.00.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.62. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 0.59% and a return on equity of 2.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Research analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 361.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, SVP Warren E. Barnes sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $65,570.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,677.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

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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