The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Shares Bought by Hantz Financial Services Inc.

Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $3,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,022,000 after acquiring an additional 10,341 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 104.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,967 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,772,000 after purchasing an additional 6,112 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 82.4% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after buying an additional 5,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,046,000. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 5,886 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.05, for a total value of $942,054.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,635,810.25. This represents a 8.91 % 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. Insiders sold a total of 12,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,951,223 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

NYSE THG opened at $155.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.66 and a 1 year high of $166.13. The company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $156.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.95.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.46 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. 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

Several research firms have recently issued reports on THG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer increased their price target 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays raised The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.88.

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.