VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases Shares of 2,550 The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,550 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $466,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 36.1% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,280,418 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $217,505,000 after purchasing an additional 339,896 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 763,431 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,967,000 after purchasing an additional 209,616 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 206.0% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 292,121 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,058,000 after acquiring an additional 196,655 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 52.9% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 558,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $94,787,000 after acquiring an additional 193,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 58.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 448,980 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $81,548,000 after purchasing an additional 165,496 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Cynthia Egan sold 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.50, for a total transaction of $640,900.00. Following the sale, the director owned 9,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,764,171.50. This trade represents a 26.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Denise Lowsley sold 4,175 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.73, for a total transaction of $800,472.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $744,487.59. This trade represents a 51.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,837 shares of company stock worth $1,858,577. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:THG opened at $197.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $178.73 and a 200 day moving average of $178.20. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.70 and a 1-year high of $199.59. The firm has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.92 and a beta of 0.31.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $5.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.14 by $1.11. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 10.77% and a return on equity of 21.55%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.87 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 18.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 19.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut The Hanover Insurance Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $208.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.60.

The Hanover Insurance Group 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.