Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Has $2.26 Million Holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. decreased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,613 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $2,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,734 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 26,204 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,881,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 143,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

THG has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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 research report on Thursday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.25.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $171.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $161.19 and its 200-day moving average is $156.00. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $119.66 and a 12 month high of $173.30.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities research analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 30.80%.

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.