Jane Carlin Sells 1,000 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Stock

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Director Jane Carlin sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.50, for a total transaction of $231,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $525,505. This trade represents a 30.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE:THG traded down $4.20 on Tuesday, hitting $228.13. 365,701 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 332,025. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $207.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $165.50 and a 52 week high of $236.07. The company has a market cap of $7.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.28.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The insurance provider reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.84 by $1.47. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 11.17%.The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.35 EPS. The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 19.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 18.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,817,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 36.1% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,280,418 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $217,505,000 after purchasing an additional 339,896 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 763,431 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,967,000 after purchasing an additional 209,616 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 646,910 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $118,236,000 after purchasing an additional 197,930 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 206.0% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 292,121 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,058,000 after buying an additional 196,655 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

THG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $194.00 to $203.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.29.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

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.