Retirement Systems of Alabama Makes New Investment in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Retirement Systems of Alabama purchased a new stake in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 48,023 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,409,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,047,005 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,898,456,000 after acquiring an additional 313,449 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 10.9% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,626,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,040,475,000 after purchasing an additional 751,715 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $1,481,805,000 after purchasing an additional 54,363 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 71,265.9% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,616,826 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $967,646,000 after purchasing an additional 3,611,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $815,013,000. 82.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Travelers Companies Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:TRV opened at $281.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $285.02 and a 200 day moving average of $276.30. The company has a market cap of $62.73 billion, a PE ratio of 10.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.52. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.43 and a 12-month high of $296.85. 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 results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.34 by $2.79. The business 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

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

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Key Travelers Companies News

Here are the key news stories impacting Travelers Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results, dividend and big buyback support valuation — TRV reported an upside EPS beat and revenue above expectations for the latest quarter, declared a $1.10 quarterly dividend, and the board authorized a $5.0 billion share buyback (about 8.3% of shares). Those actions improve capital return visibility and support the stock. MarketBeat TRV Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst price-target increases — Several shops have lifted price targets recently (including a move to $320). Higher targets can help underpin upside expectations even where ratings vary. Price Target Raise to $320
• Positive Sentiment: Independent upgrade to “strong-buy” from Argus — Another analyst upgrade adds a buy-side voice supporting TRV shares. Argus Upgrade (via Zacks/TickerReport)
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst views remain — Citigroup raised its price target to $315 but retained a “sell” rating, and other firms show a range of ratings from strong-buy to hold. That mixed research flow keeps sentiment and trading direction uncertain. Benzinga Analyst Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Travel demand data are healthy but indirect for insurers — industry reports (Flywire on luxury travel spending and American Airlines’ record revenue) point to robust travel activity, which can raise premium opportunities for travel-related insurance lines but is a second-order effect for Travelers’ broad P&C business. Flywire Report American Airlines Revenue
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by an EVP — Jeffrey Klenk sold 16,712 shares (~$4.68M) and materially reduced his holding; while single insider sales can be benign, large reductions by senior executives often spur short-term selling and investor scrutiny. InsiderTrades: Form 4 / SEC Filing

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 8,920 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.73, for a total transaction of $2,637,911.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 117,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,776,665.08. This trade represents a 7.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.77, for a total value of $4,675,516.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,699,602.75. This represents a 73.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,435 shares of company stock worth $15,366,736. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TRV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Travelers Companies from $309.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Travelers Companies to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Tuesday. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Travelers Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.80.

Travelers Companies 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.