The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Shares Sold by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 82.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,162 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 24,230 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 14,450 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,604,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 253,367 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,119,000 after buying an additional 7,273 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,747 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 5,129 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,925 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $455,000. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

THG has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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 raised The Hanover Insurance Group from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $143.33.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE:THG traded up $2.96 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $133.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 252,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,011. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.96 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $130.71 and a 200-day moving average of $126.45. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $103.82 and a 52-week high of $138.00.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.62. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 7.00%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.23%.

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.