London Co. of Virginia Lowers Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

London Co. of Virginia lessened its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 469,647 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,303 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $72,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of THG. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 91.9% in 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 lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 502.1% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 226.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 339 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.60, for a total value of $1,753,631.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,942.40. This trade represents a 28.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John C. Roche sold 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $52,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders sold 11,027 shares of company stock valued at $1,841,309 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. JMP Securities increased their price objective on 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. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised The Hanover Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.50.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of THG stock opened at $166.59 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.39. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.66 and a 1-year high of $176.16. The company has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 0.44. 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 Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.29. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.98%.

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.