Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Invests $2.34 Million in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 13,463 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,342,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 91.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 81.7% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 307 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 331.4% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the first quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4,675.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 382 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John C. Roche sold 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $52,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,772,450. The trade was a 0.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.60, for a total transaction of $1,753,631.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,942.40. The trade was a 28.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $169.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $121.52 and a 1 year high of $178.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $168.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.96. The company has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 0.45.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.29. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 18.23%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.08 earnings per share. The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

THG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $163.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.50.

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.