Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 29,870 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 727,958 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,870 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $133,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John C. Roche sold 8,358 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total value of $1,619,278.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 141,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,319,471.14. This trade represents a 5.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia Egan sold 3,400 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.50, for a total value of $640,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,764,171.50. This represents a 26.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 29,508 shares of company stock worth $5,704,651 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on THG shares. BMO Capital Markets cut The Hanover Insurance Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $194.00 to $203.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $208.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $207.00.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:THG opened at $187.12 on Friday. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.70 and a fifty-two week high of $199.59. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $183.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.52.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.87 EPS. The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 18.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.12%.

The Hanover Insurance Group 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.