Barclays PLC Has $4.02 Million Stock Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,155 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 10,341 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.08% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $4,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 64.9% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the third quarter worth $60,000. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

THG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $992,669.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 54,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,782,214.76. This represents a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 29,051 shares of company stock worth $4,556,803 in the last ninety days. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

NYSE:THG traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $153.85. 151,937 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 176,975. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.66 and a 52 week high of $166.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.26 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.19.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The Hanover Insurance Group's payout ratio is currently 35.71%.

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.