WBI Investments LLC Purchases Shares of 25,635 The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

WBI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 25,635 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,965,000. The Hanover Insurance Group makes up about 1.0% of WBI Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of THG. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 307 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $449,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 117.6% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 19,034 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,944,000 after purchasing an additional 10,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $739,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $168.43 on Monday. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.66 and a twelve month high of $176.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.00. The firm has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 0.44.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.29. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 6.83%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.08 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 29.98%.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.60, for a total value of $1,753,631.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,942.40. This trade represents a 28.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John C. Roche sold 301 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,772,450. The trade was a 0.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,027 shares of company stock valued at $1,841,309. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

THG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised The Hanover Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.50.

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.