The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Position Cut by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 29.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 142,447 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 59,586 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.40% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $19,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $197,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 13,706 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,664,000 after acquiring an additional 761 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 142.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,336 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 4,311 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $738,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jane D. Carlin sold 1,119 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.25, for a total transaction of $147,987.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Willard T. Lee sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.94, for a total value of $135,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,398 shares in the company, valued at $597,864.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jane D. Carlin sold 1,119 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.25, for a total value of $147,987.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $147.00 target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.00.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 2.8 %

THG stock opened at $134.57 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17 and a beta of 0.68. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $103.82 and a 52-week high of $138.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.09.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The insurance provider reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 7.00% and a net margin of 2.67%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 10.74 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.23%.

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.