Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 573,077 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,996 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $160,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.75, for a total transaction of $3,127,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 117,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,366,997. This represents a 8.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 55,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.70, for a total value of $16,424,515.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,329 shares in the company, valued at $76,718,956.30. The trade was a 17.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 92,845 shares of company stock worth $27,239,631 over the last ninety days. 1.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $312.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Travelers Companies from $316.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Travelers Companies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $309.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.33.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of Travelers Companies stock opened at $306.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $230.43 and a one year high of $309.37. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $288.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.34 by $2.79. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 12.88%.The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.15 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 21st that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.98%.

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.