The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG Shares Purchased by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 252.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,681 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 45.1% during the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 907,760 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $157,905,000 after buying an additional 282,233 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 166.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 346,275 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,235,000 after acquiring an additional 216,427 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 59.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 457,809 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $79,032,000 after acquiring an additional 170,453 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 25.6% during the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 464,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $78,932,000 after acquiring an additional 94,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 9.3% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 940,522 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $163,604,000 after acquiring an additional 80,262 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Friday. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $188.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JMP Securities set a $205.00 target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.00.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of THG stock opened at $174.81 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $176.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $145.17 and a one year high of $186.46. The firm has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.44.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.07 by $1.28. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.70%.

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.