Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 216.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 174,715 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 119,558 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Travelers Companies worth $47,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,109,933 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,413,207,000 after purchasing an additional 110,311 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,746,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,162,917,000 after purchasing an additional 119,481 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth $723,339,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 22.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,785,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $496,872,000 after purchasing an additional 331,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,774,756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $514,786,000 after purchasing an additional 89,159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on TRV shares. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Seaport Research Partners set a $322.00 target price on Travelers Companies in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays upped their target price on Travelers Companies from $312.00 to $331.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Brean Capital assumed coverage on Travelers Companies in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $311.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 6,735 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.78, for a total value of $2,079,633.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 48,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,049,010.86. The trade was a 12.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 6,414 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.06, for a total transaction of $1,956,654.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,853,239.50. The trade was a 51.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 37,573 shares of company stock worth $11,504,146. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TRV stock opened at $303.13 on Friday. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $249.19 and a 12 month high of $313.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $299.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $294.00.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $11.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.11 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 24.06%. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

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

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.