The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV decreased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 44.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 967 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 766 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of THG. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at about $219,000. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $435,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 10,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Burney Co. purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $202,000. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE THG opened at $178.43 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $145.17 and a one year high of $186.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s fifty day moving average is $177.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.23.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $5.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $1.30. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 22.43%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.05 EPS. Analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 20.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JMP Securities set a $205.00 target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $198.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.83.

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Denise Lowsley sold 1,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.47, for a total value of $293,799.93. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,511 shares in the company, valued at $637,141.17. This represents a 31.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.