Legal & General Group Plc Buys 41,769 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,711,785 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,769 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $496,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Navalign LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

NYSE:TRV opened at $306.67 on Tuesday. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $249.19 and a 52 week high of $313.12. The firm has a market cap of $65.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $299.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released 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. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 24.06%. The business had revenue of $11.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. Travelers Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is 13.09%.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In other Travelers Companies news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,557 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.64, for a total value of $483,666.48. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 259,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,639,037.60. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 6,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.78, for a total transaction of $2,079,633.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,049,010.86. This represents a 12.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 27,573 shares of company stock worth $8,427,646. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $340.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.