Bridgewater Associates LP Cuts Stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Bridgewater Associates LP lowered its position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,863 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 6,033 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.11% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $5,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of THG. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 14,711.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 552,450 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $81,823,000 after purchasing an additional 548,720 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 10.7% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,484,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $219,883,000 after purchasing an additional 143,339 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the second quarter worth approximately $14,684,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 116.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 114,643 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,150,000 after purchasing an additional 61,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the second quarter worth approximately $4,284,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $165.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.27. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $119.36 and a 12 month high of $166.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on THG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut 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 report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.83.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $992,669.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 54,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,782,214.76. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 30,551 shares of company stock valued at $4,781,935 in the last quarter. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.