The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Shares Sold by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC decreased its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,284 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 7,103 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.09% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $4,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the second quarter worth about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 502.1% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

THG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $176.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $992,669.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 54,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,782,214.76. This trade represents a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,951,223. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:THG traded down $2.44 on Friday, reaching $156.30. The company had a trading volume of 196,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,603. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 0.72. 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 Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.66 and a 52-week high of $166.13. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $157.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.18.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company 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 firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from The Hanover Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.71%.

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.