Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Trims Stock Holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 984,210 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 12,801 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $150,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in THG. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.7% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 14,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,669 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 35.4% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on THG. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $176.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.25.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

THG opened at $160.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.66 and a 52-week high of $166.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $155.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.70.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.45 by $1.87. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 6.83%. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.11 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is a boost 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 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.80%.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

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.