Hedge Funds Are Dumping The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (THG)

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) has experienced a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money recently.

In the financial world, there are dozens of metrics shareholders can use to watch the equity markets. Some of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top investment managers can beat the market by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Equally as beneficial, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the financial markets. There are a variety of incentives for an insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).

Now, we’re going to take a glance at the key action regarding The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG).

How are hedge funds trading The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -40% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably.

According to our comprehensive database, Dreman Value Management, managed by David Dreman, holds the most valuable position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG). Dreman Value Management has a $30.1 million position in the stock, comprising 0.9% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by AQR Capital Management, managed by Cliff Asness, which held a $5.5 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include Ken Gray and Steve Walsh’s Bryn Mawr Capital, David Cohen and Harold Levy’s Iridian Asset Management and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management.

Seeing as The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) has witnessed falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there exists a select few fund managers who sold off their entire stakes last quarter. At the top of the heap, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group said goodbye to the biggest position of the 450+ funds we key on, worth an estimated $8.7 million in stock.. D. E. Shaw’s fund, D E Shaw, also sold off its stock, about $1.6 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 4 funds last quarter.

What have insiders been doing with The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)?

Bullish insider trading is best served when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG). These stocks are Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:ENH), Enstar Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESGR), Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY), American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT), and Amtrust Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFSI). This group of stocks are in the property & casualty insurance industry and their market caps are similar to THG’s market cap.

With the returns exhibited by the aforementioned studies, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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