Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Sells 1,680 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,930 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,680 shares during the quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $1,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 502.1% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 226.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 339 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

THG stock opened at $153.43 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $156.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.41. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.66 and a fifty-two week high of $166.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22 and a beta of 0.72.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.46 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.71%.

Insider Activity

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 5,886 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.05, for a total transaction of $942,054.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 60,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,635,810.25. The trade was a 8.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,951,223. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.88.

The Hanover Insurance Group Company 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.