Oak Thistle LLC Buys Shares of 6,761 The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 6,761 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,046,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,484,592 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $219,883,000 after buying an additional 143,339 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,239,701 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $183,612,000 after acquiring an additional 3,780 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 997,011 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $147,667,000 after acquiring an additional 4,717 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 798,109 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $100,111,000 after purchasing an additional 30,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 660,272 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $97,816,000 after purchasing an additional 16,800 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

THG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered The Hanover Insurance Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $176.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.88.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 5,886 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.05, for a total transaction of $942,054.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,635,810.25. The trade was a 8.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 24,100 shares of company stock valued at $3,812,183 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

NYSE THG traded up $2.13 on Thursday, hitting $158.82. The company had a trading volume of 82,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 168,798. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company's fifty day moving average price is $157.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.74. The company has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 0.72. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.66 and a 12-month high of $166.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from The Hanover Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.71%.

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.