The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Sets New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $148.46 and last traded at $147.11, with a volume of 18738 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $146.99.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on THG. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $147.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $157.80.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.03 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.45.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 12.42%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.91) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 10.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Richard W. Lavey sold 8,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.01, for a total value of $1,219,476.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,224,826.81. 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, Director Kathy S. Lane sold 1,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.23, for a total value of $252,889.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard W. Lavey sold 8,468 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.01, for a total transaction of $1,219,476.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,281 shares in the company, valued at $5,224,826.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,852 shares of company stock valued at $1,541,491 in the last ninety days. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 75.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 965,374 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $117,217,000 after purchasing an additional 414,993 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,900,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,214,520 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $147,467,000 after purchasing an additional 264,483 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 149.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 417,767 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $50,725,000 after purchasing an additional 250,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 1,294.6% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 145,089 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,617,000 after purchasing an additional 134,685 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

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.