Peregrine Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Peregrine Capital Management LLC lowered its position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 8.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 25,080 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,419 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $4,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 36.1% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,280,418 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $217,505,000 after purchasing an additional 339,896 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 953,781 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $174,322,000 after buying an additional 190,350 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 833,179 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $152,285,000 after buying an additional 42,412 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 801,375 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $146,467,000 after buying an additional 162,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 727,958 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $133,073,000 after acquiring an additional 29,870 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John C. Roche sold 8,358 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total transaction of $1,619,278.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 141,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,319,471.14. This represents a 5.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Francisco Aristeguieta sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.37, for a total transaction of $195,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,053 shares in the company, valued at $791,834.61. The trade was a 19.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,508 shares of company stock worth $5,704,651. 2.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

THG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered The Hanover Insurance Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $194.00 to $203.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $207.00.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Up 2.0%

THG stock opened at $221.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.53. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.97 and a 52 week high of $221.70.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.14 by $1.11. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.55% and a net margin of 10.77%.The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 18.36 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $700.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.12%.

The Hanover Insurance Group Profile

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.