The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV Shares Acquired by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,600 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $13,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the second quarter worth $815,013,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,626,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,040,475,000 after buying an additional 751,715 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the third quarter worth about $125,597,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $112,051,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Travelers Companies by 1,641.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 379,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $105,537,000 after purchasing an additional 357,687 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TRV. Weiss Ratings raised Travelers Companies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Travelers Companies from $317.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $320.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $312.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.00.

Travelers Companies Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of TRV stock opened at $297.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.51. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $285.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $278.75. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.43 and a 1 year high of $304.40.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.34 by $2.79. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 12.88%.The company had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.98%.

Travelers Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In other news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.75, for a total transaction of $3,127,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 117,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,366,997. This represents a 8.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.18, for a total value of $3,011,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,131,092.84. This represents a 22.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 101,765 shares of company stock worth $29,877,543 in the last 90 days. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.