Highland Capital Management LLC Purchases 102 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Highland Capital Management LLC grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,669 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.7% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 14,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 35.4% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 6.8% during the third quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 5,886 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.05, for a total transaction of $942,054.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 60,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,635,810.25. This represents a 8.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,951,223. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $152.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $156.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.66 and a twelve month high of $166.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted 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 business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. This is an increase from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on THG shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $174.88.

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.