National Wealth Management Group LLC Takes Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

National Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,552 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $713,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Associated Banc Corp increased its position in Travelers Companies by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 2,734 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,093 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,143,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 33.1% in the 2nd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 776 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.4% during the third quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 9,737 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TRV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Travelers Companies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Travelers Companies from $307.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $301.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.25, for a total value of $6,956,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,493,829. This represents a 48.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 8,572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.73, for a total value of $2,320,697.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,106,815.74. This trade represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 46,295 shares of company stock worth $13,011,918 over the last 90 days. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 0.3%

TRV stock opened at $277.62 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $61.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $285.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.33. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.43 and a fifty-two week high of $296.85.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.34 by $2.79. The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.13 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.98%.

Travelers Companies announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Travelers Companies

The Travelers Companies, Inc (NYSE: TRV) is a leading provider of property and casualty insurance products and services. The company underwrites a broad range of commercial and personal insurance lines, offering coverage designed to protect individuals, small and midsize businesses, and large corporate clients against property loss, liability, and other operational risks. Travelers is known for combining underwriting, claims management and risk control services to help clients prevent losses and recover when incidents occur.

On the commercial side, Travelers writes primary and specialty coverages including property, general liability, commercial auto, workers’ compensation, professional and management liability, surety and inland marine.