ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 21,936 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 222,004 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 21,936 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $34,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Barclays PLC raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 61.5% in the third 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. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth about $1,046,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth about $5,276,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $855,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

THG opened at $165.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $165.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.71. The company has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.44. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.66 and a twelve month high of $176.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.98%.

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, CEO John C. Roche sold 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $52,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,772,450. The trade was a 0.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.60, for a total transaction of $1,753,631.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,942.40. This represents a 28.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,027 shares of company stock valued at $1,841,309. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

THG has been the topic of several research reports. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.50.

The Hanover Insurance Group Company 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.