The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Stake Boosted by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,341 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 3,988 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 0.09% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $4,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 14,711.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 552,450 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $81,823,000 after acquiring an additional 548,720 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $14,684,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.5% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,341,253 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $168,247,000 after buying an additional 70,161 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 116.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 114,643 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $14,150,000 after buying an additional 61,738 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the second quarter worth approximately $4,284,000. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE THG traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $147.90. The company had a trading volume of 304,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 174,834. The firm's 50 day moving average is $147.58 and its 200 day moving average is $136.46. The company has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.69. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.22 and a fifty-two week high of $155.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 5.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. The Hanover Insurance Group's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 10.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kathy S. Lane sold 1,884 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.23, for a total transaction of $252,889.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.08, for a total transaction of $1,860,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,091 shares in the company, valued at $10,249,392.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kathy S. Lane sold 1,884 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.23, for a total transaction of $252,889.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,303 shares of company stock worth $4,372,203 in the last quarter. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on THG shares. 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 note on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.20.

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.