Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 55,685 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,612,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew 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 buying an additional 143,339 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,239,701 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $183,612,000 after acquiring an additional 3,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 660,272 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $97,816,000 after acquiring an additional 16,800 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 349,125 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,996,000 after purchasing an additional 24,290 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

NYSE:THG opened at $170.21 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 0.65. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.66 and a twelve month high of $173.30.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on THG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $176.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.25.

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.