Corient Private Wealth LLC Acquires 2,436 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 72.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,795 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,436 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $1,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,880 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,026 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 12,020 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,183,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,610 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $195.00 target price on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, April 30th. 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. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $207.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Denise Lowsley sold 4,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.73, for a total value of $800,472.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,883 shares in the company, valued at $744,487.59. This trade represents a 51.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. Roche sold 8,358 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total transaction of $1,619,278.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 141,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,319,471.14. The trade was a 5.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,508 shares of company stock worth $5,704,651. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of THG opened at $221.14 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 0.28. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.97 and a twelve month high of $221.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.53.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced 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 Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.55% and a net margin of 10.77%.The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.87 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 18.36 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.7%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 19.12%.

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

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.