1,689 Shares in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Purchased by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,689 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,590 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.5% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,837 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 13.8% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 933 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 129.8% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 216 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

THG opened at $127.21 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $131.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.92. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $103.82 and a 1 year high of $138.00. The stock has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 135.33 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.62. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 0.59% and a return on equity of 2.44%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 361.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Warren E. Barnes sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $65,570.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,677.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

THG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $147.00 target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.83.

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.