The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Shares Down 1.1% - Should You Sell?

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 1.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $152.81 and last traded at $153.17. 16,483 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 174,832 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on THG shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $173.29.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average is $156.29 and its 200-day moving average is $142.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09 and a beta of 0.71.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The business's revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.41 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The Hanover Insurance Group's payout ratio is presently 35.71%.

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 12,000 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.08, for a total value of $1,860,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,249,392.28. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,251 shares of company stock worth $4,736,935. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 14,711.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 548,720 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position 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 valued at $219,883,000 after purchasing an additional 143,339 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,684,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $14,150,000 after buying an additional 61,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the second quarter worth approximately $4,284,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company's stock.

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.