The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV Shares Purchased by Hilltop Holdings Inc.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 424.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,589 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $2,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 134.1% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on TRV shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Travelers Companies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Evercore increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $309.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Argus upgraded shares of Travelers Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Travelers Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.33.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE TRV opened at $304.53 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.85 billion, a PE ratio of 11.06, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.49. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.43 and a twelve month high of $313.12. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $292.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $284.67.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.15 EPS. Travelers Companies’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.98%.

Travelers Companies announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,699,602.75. This represents a 73.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.18, for a total transaction of $3,011,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,131,092.84. This trade represents a 22.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 92,845 shares of company stock worth $27,239,631 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

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.