The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 947,428 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 25,253 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 2.63% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $139,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

THG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Janney Montgomery Scott cut The Hanover Insurance Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $176.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $173.29.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE THG traded up $0.69 on Monday, reaching $154.85. The company had a trading volume of 185,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 175,505. 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 Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.36 and a 1 year high of $166.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $156.29 and a 200-day moving average of $142.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.71.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is 35.71%.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total value of $180,132.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,906,908.13. The trade was a 1.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,551 shares of company stock valued at $4,781,935. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.