Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Increases Stock Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 71.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,713 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $5,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% during the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 134.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 200.0% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 104 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE TRV opened at $301.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $67.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.51. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.43 and a 52 week high of $304.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $284.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.82.

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

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

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 8,920 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.73, for a total value of $2,637,911.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 117,596 shares in the company, valued at $34,776,665.08. This represents a 7.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.50, for a total value of $575,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 255,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,337,225. The trade was a 0.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 85,168 shares of company stock valued at $24,835,002 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on TRV. Wall Street Zen cut Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 19th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $304.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $312.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Travelers Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.00.

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.