Quantinno Capital Management LP Grows Stock Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 117.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,034 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,286 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.05% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $2,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of THG. Barclays PLC increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 61.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,022,000 after purchasing an additional 10,341 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 46,091 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,128,000 after purchasing an additional 13,750 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 76,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,832,000 after purchasing an additional 25,089 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 349,125 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,996,000 after purchasing an additional 24,290 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth $4,903,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of THG stock opened at $169.87 on Tuesday. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.66 and a 1-year high of $176.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $165.44 and its 200 day moving average is $161.16. The company has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 29.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on THG. Barclays upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JMP Securities raised their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $163.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.50.

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 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. Also, CEO John C. Roche sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.01, for a total value of $35,002.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,749,892.78. This represents a 0.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,027 shares of company stock valued at $1,841,309 over the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Hanover Insurance Group Company 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.