WINTON GROUP Ltd Takes $1.29 Million Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 7,577 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,287,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,635,173 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $632,338,000 after acquiring an additional 21,221 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 75,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,387 shares during the period. Aviva PLC purchased a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the second quarter worth approximately $475,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 252.3% during the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 3,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 114,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Denise Lowsley sold 1,619 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.47, for a total transaction of $293,799.93. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $637,141.17. This trade represents a 31.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

THG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $198.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.83.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE THG opened at $180.80 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 0.33. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.17 and a 52 week high of $188.18.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $5.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.30. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 21.73%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.05 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 20.82%.

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.