The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.90

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, June 2nd, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of 0.90 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, June 27th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%.

The Hanover Insurance Group has raised its dividend by an average of 6.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 20 consecutive years. The Hanover Insurance Group has a dividend payout ratio of 22.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect The Hanover Insurance Group to earn $15.75 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.9%.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

The Hanover Insurance Group stock traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $174.72. The stock had a trading volume of 11,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 210,464. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 1-year low of $119.66 and a 1-year high of $176.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $165.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 6.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on THG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $163.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.50.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, CEO John C. Roche sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.01, for a total value of $35,002.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,749,892.78. This represents a 0.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,864 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,942.40. The trade was a 28.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,027 shares of company stock worth $1,841,309. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 21.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 218,753 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,052,000 after purchasing an additional 38,905 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 88,367 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,371,000 after acquiring an additional 33,495 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 7,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1,568.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 751 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.