M Holdings Securities Inc. Acquires New Stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,447 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $524,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of THG. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.2% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 89.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 5,414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after buying an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,367 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 92.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Willard T. Lee sold 9,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.14, for a total transaction of $2,477,946.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,836.56. This represents a 62.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dennis Kerrigan sold 6,551 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.79, for a total transaction of $1,446,395.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,650,142.37. The trade was a 35.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 18,601 shares of company stock valued at $4,392,292 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.62.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of THG stock opened at $250.36 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $229.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $166.54 and a 1-year high of $256.74.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The insurance provider reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.63% and a net margin of 10.97%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 20.80 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.17%.

The Hanover Insurance Group Company Profile

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. is a property and casualty insurer founded in 1852 as the Hanover Fire Insurance Company. Headquartered in Worcester, Massachusetts, it provides insurance products and services primarily in the United States. The company offers personal insurance, including coverage for homes and automobiles, as well as commercial insurance for businesses. Its commercial offerings include coverage for small and midsize businesses and specialty risks. The Hanover distributes its products mainly through independent insurance agents and brokers, working with them to serve individuals, families, and businesses.