Heritage Wealth Advisors Reduces Holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Heritage Wealth Advisors lessened its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 53.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors’ holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $73,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 907,760 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $157,905,000 after acquiring an additional 282,233 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted 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 valued at $60,235,000 after purchasing an additional 216,427 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 59.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 457,809 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $79,032,000 after acquiring an additional 170,453 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake 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. raised 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 valued at $163,604,000 after purchasing an additional 80,262 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of THG opened at $180.89 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $177.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.19. The stock has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 0.44. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $145.17 and a one year high of $186.46.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $5.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $1.30. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 22.43% and a net margin of 9.71%.The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Denise Lowsley sold 1,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.47, for a total value of $293,799.93. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $637,141.17. This represents a 31.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on THG shares. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. JMP Securities set a $205.00 target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $198.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.83.

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.