First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 25,945 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 827,320 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,945 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $143,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,880 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,026 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 12,020 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,183,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.1% in the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,359 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on THG. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price target (up from $211.00) on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Francisco Aristeguieta sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.37, for a total value of $195,370.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,053 shares in the company, valued at $791,834.61. This trade represents a 19.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Cynthia Egan sold 3,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.50, for a total value of $640,900.00. Following the sale, the director owned 9,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,764,171.50. This represents a 26.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 29,508 shares of company stock valued at $5,704,651 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:THG opened at $214.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $163.18 and a one year high of $225.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $203.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.68.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $5.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.14 by $1.11. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.55% and a net margin of 10.77%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 18.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is 19.12%.

The Hanover Insurance Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $700.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc (NYSE: THG) is a property and casualty insurance company that provides a range of commercial and personal insurance products. Through its subsidiary companies, Hanover offers coverage for businesses of all sizes, including workers’ compensation, general liability, commercial auto, and professional liability. On the personal lines side, the company underwrites homeowners, personal auto, flood, and umbrella policies designed to meet the needs of individuals and families.

In addition to its core commercial and personal insurance offerings, Hanover maintains a specialty arm that focuses on niche markets through tailored product solutions.