Amalgamated Bank Trims Stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Amalgamated Bank reduced its position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,490 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 628 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $2,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 1st quarter worth about $209,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 1st quarter worth about $869,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 4th quarter worth about $4,903,000. Finally, Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 267,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,294,000 after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.60, for a total value of $1,753,631.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,864 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,942.40. This trade represents a 28.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

NYSE THG opened at $163.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 0.44. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.17 and a 52-week high of $178.68. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $168.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.42.

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

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.98%.

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.