Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Purchases 15,694 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 99.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 31,512 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,694 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $8,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 313,449 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,746,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,162,917,000 after buying an additional 119,481 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the second quarter worth approximately $815,013,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 22.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,785,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $496,872,000 after buying an additional 331,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 2.7% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,670,016 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $466,302,000 after buying an additional 43,589 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TRV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Travelers Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Mizuho reduced their price target on Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.77, for a total transaction of $4,675,516.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,699,602.75. The trade was a 73.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 55,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.70, for a total value of $16,424,515.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 260,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,718,956.30. This represents a 17.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 92,845 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,631 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:TRV opened at $302.54 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $292.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $284.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $65.42 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.49. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.43 and a 52 week high of $313.12.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.34 by $2.79. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The company had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.15 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

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

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

Travelers Companies 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.