Some The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Independent Chairperson & Independent Presiding Director, Cynthia Egan, recently sold a substantial US$641k worth of stock at a price of US$189 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 27%, which is notable but not too bad.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Hanover Insurance Group

The Executive VP & COO, Richard Lavey, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.2m worth of shares at a price of US$180 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$186, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 22% of Richard Lavey's stake.

Hanover Insurance Group insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Does Hanover Insurance Group Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Hanover Insurance Group insiders own 0.9% of the company, worth about US$60m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Hanover Insurance Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. But it is good to see that Hanover Insurance Group is growing earnings. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Hanover Insurance Group.

Of course Hanover Insurance Group may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.