KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires Shares of 9,400 The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,454,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in THG. State Street Corp grew its position in 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 buying an additional 3,780 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 958,858 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $148,297,000 after purchasing an additional 130,054 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 660,272 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $97,816,000 after purchasing an additional 16,800 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 369,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,733,000 after purchasing an additional 17,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 349,125 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,996,000 after purchasing an additional 24,290 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $176.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays raised The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, CEO John C. Roche sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.01, for a total value of $35,002.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,749,892.78. This represents a 0.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:THG opened at $172.55 on Friday. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.66 and a 52-week high of $176.00. The company has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $163.46 and a 200-day moving average of $157.09.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.45 by $1.87. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 6.83%. On average, equities analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.80%.

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.