Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,786,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in THG. Norges Bank bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,817,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 36.1% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,280,418 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $217,505,000 after acquiring an additional 339,896 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 763,431 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,967,000 after acquiring an additional 209,616 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 646,910 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $118,236,000 after acquiring an additional 197,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 206.0% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 292,121 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,058,000 after acquiring an additional 196,655 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $208.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $194.00 to $203.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $195.00 price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $207.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, CEO John C. Roche sold 8,358 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total transaction of $1,619,278.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 141,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,319,471.14. The trade was a 5.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dennis Francis Kerrigan sold 6,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.99, for a total transaction of $1,208,503.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,988 shares in the company, valued at $2,313,564.12. The trade was a 34.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,508 shares of company stock valued at $5,704,651. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $214.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $192.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.04. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $160.70 and a one year high of $220.00.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.14 by $1.11. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.55% and a net margin of 10.77%.The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.87 EPS. The Hanover Insurance Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 18.36 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 19.12%.

The Hanover Insurance Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc (NYSE: THG) is a property and casualty insurance company that provides a range of commercial and personal insurance products. Through its subsidiary companies, Hanover offers coverage for businesses of all sizes, including workers’ compensation, general liability, commercial auto, and professional liability. On the personal lines side, the company underwrites homeowners, personal auto, flood, and umbrella policies designed to meet the needs of individuals and families.

In addition to its core commercial and personal insurance offerings, Hanover maintains a specialty arm that focuses on niche markets through tailored product solutions.