Oak Thistle LLC Makes New $1.40 Million Investment in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,713 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,401,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 75,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,387 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the second quarter worth about $475,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 141.4% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 34,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,925,000 after buying an additional 20,432 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 252.3% in the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after acquiring an additional 3,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 114,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,724 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on THG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $198.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.83.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:THG opened at $184.65 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.24. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.17 and a twelve month high of $188.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 0.33.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $5.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $1.30. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 21.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Denise Lowsley sold 1,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.47, for a total value of $293,799.93. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $637,141.17. The trade was a 31.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.