The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG Shares Acquired by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 13.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,755 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,968 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $5,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 88,367 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,371,000 after purchasing an additional 33,495 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1,568.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 751 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 218,753 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,052,000 after buying an additional 38,905 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 129,031 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $22,445,000 after buying an additional 7,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 7.7% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 283,484 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,155,000 after buying an additional 20,294 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

THG has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Friday, July 10th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $194.00 to $203.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.29.

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Dennis Francis Kerrigan sold 6,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.99, for a total value of $1,208,503.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,988 shares in the company, valued at $2,313,564.12. This trade represents a 34.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Francisco Aristeguieta sold 1,000 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.37, for a total transaction of $195,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,834.61. This trade represents a 19.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,508 shares of company stock valued at $5,704,651. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE THG opened at $214.10 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.18 and a 52-week high of $225.29.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $5.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.14 by $1.11. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.55% and a net margin of 10.77%.The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.87 earnings per share. The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 18.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.12%.

The Hanover Insurance Group Company Profile

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc (NYSE: THG) is a property and casualty insurance company that provides a range of commercial and personal insurance products. Through its subsidiary companies, Hanover offers coverage for businesses of all sizes, including workers’ compensation, general liability, commercial auto, and professional liability. On the personal lines side, the company underwrites homeowners, personal auto, flood, and umbrella policies designed to meet the needs of individuals and families.

In addition to its core commercial and personal insurance offerings, Hanover maintains a specialty arm that focuses on niche markets through tailored product solutions.