Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 18.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 459,005 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 104,632 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $128,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of TRV. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,047,005 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,898,456,000 after acquiring an additional 313,449 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Travelers Companies by 1.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,746,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,162,917,000 after purchasing an additional 119,481 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Travelers Companies by 1.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,541,819 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,481,805,000 after purchasing an additional 54,363 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Travelers Companies during the second quarter worth about $815,013,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,547,778 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $414,093,000 after purchasing an additional 194,698 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of TRV opened at $303.02 on Tuesday. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.43 and a 1-year high of $313.12. The stock has a market cap of $65.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $283.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $9.15 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is presently 15.98%.

Travelers Companies declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TRV. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $307.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Evercore raised their target price on Travelers Companies from $309.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.33.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.75, for a total value of $3,127,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 117,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,366,997. The trade was a 8.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.77, for a total value of $4,675,516.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,699,602.75. This represents a 73.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 92,845 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,631 over the last three months. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Travelers Companies Company Profile

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.