Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 5,778 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 273,194 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,778 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $79,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in Travelers Companies by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,949 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in Travelers Companies by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 10,036 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,911,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.4% in the third quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 2,889 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $807,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,167 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $897,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 8,905 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

TRV stock opened at $299.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $63.60 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $300.48 and a 200-day moving average of $290.49. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.19 and a 12-month high of $313.12.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $11.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.11 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 24.06% and a net margin of 15.54%.Travelers Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28.03 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This is an increase from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is presently 13.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In other news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 6,414 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.06, for a total transaction of $1,956,654.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,853,239.50. This represents a 51.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,557 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.64, for a total transaction of $483,666.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 259,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,639,037.60. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 27,573 shares of company stock valued at $8,427,646 in the last three months. 1.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TRV. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Travelers Companies from $259.00 to $257.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Travelers Companies from $316.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $297.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Travelers Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $309.13.

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.