Panagora Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Panagora Asset Management Inc. cut its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 74.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 8,615 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $514,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 56.6% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 224 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 819.0% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 386 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 20.3% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 468 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 119.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 566 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Denise Lowsley sold 1,619 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.47, for a total transaction of $293,799.93. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $637,141.17. This trade represents a 31.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $177.70 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.17 and a 52-week high of $188.18.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $5.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $1.30. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 21.73%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.05 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 20.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

THG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $198.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.83.

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.