Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) EVP Sells $4,675,516.24 in Stock

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) EVP Jeffrey Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.77, for a total transaction of $4,675,516.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,699,602.75. The trade was a 73.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of TRV opened at $281.90 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $284.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $276.34. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.43 and a 1 year high of $296.85. The stock has a market cap of $62.88 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.13 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 12.88%.The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is presently 15.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $317.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $284.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $307.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Travelers Companies from $302.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $309.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TRV. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,047,005 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,898,456,000 after purchasing an additional 313,449 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 119,481 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Travelers Companies by 71,265.9% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,616,826 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $967,646,000 after buying an additional 3,611,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $815,013,000. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

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.