Man Group plc Invests $1.75 Million in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Man Group plc acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 8,173 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,750,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of THG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the second quarter worth about $756,471,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $83,817,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $69,481,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jane D. Carlin sold 1,000 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.50, for a total transaction of $231,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $525,505. The trade was a 30.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dennis Francis Kerrigan sold 6,551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.79, for a total transaction of $1,446,395.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,650,142.37. This represents a 35.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,655 shares of company stock valued at $2,145,846. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Friday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $194.00 to $203.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $220.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.71.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Down 0.1%

THG stock opened at $225.95 on Wednesday. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $166.54 and a twelve month high of $236.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.26. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $220.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $196.10.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The insurance provider reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.84 by $1.47. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 11.17%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 20.17 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.14%.

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.