Insider Selling: Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) EVP Sells 2,867 Shares of Stock

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 2,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.45, for a total value of $869,991.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,607,678.10. This represents a 35.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE TRV traded up $0.61 on Tuesday, reaching $301.39. The company had a trading volume of 2,183,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,605,191. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.09 billion, a PE ratio of 8.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.51. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.19 and a 1 year high of $313.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $299.66 and a 200-day moving average of $288.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $11.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 27.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.09%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

TRV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus upgraded Travelers Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $297.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho reduced their target price on Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $316.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Travelers Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $309.13.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Travelers Companies

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 21.7% during the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 48,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,472,000 after purchasing an additional 8,600 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 746,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $208,545,000 after purchasing an additional 13,120 shares during the period. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the third quarter valued at $7,955,000. Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 32.3% during the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 26,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,323,000 after purchasing an additional 6,408 shares during the period. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 24.9% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 34,871 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,737,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.