Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Purchases 9,737 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 16.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 68,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,737 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $8,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,837 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 933 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,172 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $133.49 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 142.01 and a beta of 0.67. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $103.82 and a 52-week high of $138.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.43.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 0.59% and a return on equity of 2.44%. On average, analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 10.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 361.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Warren E. Barnes sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $65,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,677.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on THG shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.83.

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.