Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $3.10 Million Stock Holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 71.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,614 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $3,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 819.0% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 386 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 468 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 119.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 566 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Denise Lowsley sold 1,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.47, for a total transaction of $293,799.93. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $637,141.17. This trade represents a 31.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:THG opened at $182.20 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $176.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.81. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.17 and a fifty-two week high of $186.46. The company has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $5.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.30. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 22.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.05 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 20.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on THG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $198.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised 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 research note on Tuesday, October 7th. JMP Securities set a $205.00 price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.83.

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.