William Blair Investment Management LLC Grows Holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 149,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,327 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $27,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,238,000. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1,586.7% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 25,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,624,000 after buying an additional 23,800 shares during the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 1,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 72.6% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,081 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $929,000 after buying an additional 2,137 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, Director Jane D. Carlin sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.91, for a total value of $217,092.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $438,344.93. This trade represents a 33.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Dennis Francis Kerrigan sold 6,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.99, for a total value of $1,208,503.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,988 shares in the company, valued at $2,313,564.12. This represents a 34.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 29,708 shares of company stock valued at $5,726,373 over the last three months. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of THG opened at $195.34 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $180.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.04. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.70 and a 12-month high of $199.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $5.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 18.45 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to repurchase up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on THG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $208.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut The Hanover Insurance Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $194.00 to $203.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $204.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.86.

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.