Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 947,428 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 25,253 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 2.63% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $139,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 10.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,484,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $219,883,000 after acquiring an additional 143,339 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,239,701 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $183,612,000 after acquiring an additional 3,780 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 997,011 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $147,667,000 after purchasing an additional 4,717 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 802,033 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,607,000 after purchasing an additional 33,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 798,109 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,111,000 after purchasing an additional 30,536 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $992,669.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,782,214.76. This represents a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 30,551 shares of company stock worth $4,781,935 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:THG opened at $154.16 on Monday. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $119.36 and a one year high of $166.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $156.09 and a 200-day moving average of $142.37. The company has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is a positive change from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.29.

The Hanover Insurance Group 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.