The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Shares Sold by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC lessened its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 95.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,010 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 42,546 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC's holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 14,711.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 552,450 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $81,823,000 after purchasing an additional 548,720 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted 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 worth $219,883,000 after purchasing an additional 143,339 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,684,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 116.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 114,643 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $14,150,000 after purchasing an additional 61,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,284,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on THG. Piper Sandler increased 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. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered The Hanover Insurance Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $176.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on 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. Finally, Bank of America raised 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $173.29.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of THG traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $154.16. 138,534 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 175,462. 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 $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29 and a beta of 0.71. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.36 and a fifty-two week high of $166.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.27.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. This is a positive change from The Hanover Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 1,200 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,983 shares in the company, valued at $12,906,908.13. This trade represents a 1.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,551 shares of company stock valued at $4,781,935. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group 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.