The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG Shares Bought by Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 25.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 464,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 94,780 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $78,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the first quarter worth $209,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 82,886 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,418,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 7.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 112,632 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,592,000 after acquiring an additional 7,661 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 881.5% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 3,926 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 3,526 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,292,000 after buying an additional 1,996 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:THG opened at $184.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $174.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.42. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.48 and a 12-month high of $184.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by $1.28. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 20.24% and a net margin of 8.67%.The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

THG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. JMP Securities set a $205.00 price target on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $188.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group Company Profile

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.