Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 8,850 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Geode Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 651,422 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 8,850 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.81% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $100,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of THG. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 91.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 502.1% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 226.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 339 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

THG stock opened at $156.70 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $164.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.14. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.66 and a 52-week high of $176.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.45 by $1.87. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 18.01%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.80%.

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, CEO John C. Roche sold 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $52,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 124,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,772,450. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $179.00 to $171.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $178.00.

The Hanover Insurance Group 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.