Brokerages Set The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Price Target at $179.50

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $179.50.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on THG shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $163.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on 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, JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Down 0.7%

THG traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $172.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 214,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 212,250. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 0.44. The business's 50-day moving average is $165.56 and its 200-day moving average is $162.28. The Hanover Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $119.66 and a fifty-two week high of $178.68.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.29. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 6.83%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.08 EPS. The Hanover Insurance Group's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.60, for a total value of $1,753,631.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,864 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,308,942.40. This represents a 28.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. Roche sold 301 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $52,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,772,450. This trade represents a 0.24% 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. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the first quarter worth $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 91.9% during 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 raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 331.4% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 302 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,000. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

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.