Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 55,685 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,612,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of The Hanover Insurance Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,613,952 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $558,934,000 after acquiring an additional 23,565 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,489,391 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $230,349,000 after purchasing an additional 4,799 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,217,919 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $188,363,000 after purchasing an additional 270,491 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 958,858 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $148,297,000 after buying an additional 130,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 860,260 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $133,048,000 after buying an additional 19,956 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on THG. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $179.00 to $171.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $178.00.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, CEO John C. Roche sold 301 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $52,675.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 124,414 shares in the company, valued at $21,772,450. The trade was a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

THG traded down $2.17 on Friday, hitting $161.72. 221,173 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 203,327. The firm has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $164.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.66 and a twelve month high of $176.16.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.45 by $1.87. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 18.01%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The Hanover Insurance Group's payout ratio is currently 30.80%.

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.