Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Invests $72,000 in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 467 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $72,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of THG. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,734 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 11,925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 26,204 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,881,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 10.7% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 369,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,733,000 after purchasing an additional 17,856 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on THG shares. Barclays upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $176.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.25.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

THG opened at $171.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.65. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.66 and a fifty-two week high of $173.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $161.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.45 by $1.87. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 18.01%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.