Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Makes New Investment in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP bought a new stake in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 14,099 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,772,000. Travelers Companies makes up about 1.1% of Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $294,755,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 41.2% in the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,679,275 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $444,101,000 after buying an additional 490,039 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,934,625 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $511,631,000 after buying an additional 390,104 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 86.5% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 738,901 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $197,686,000 after acquiring an additional 342,666 shares in the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on TRV shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “positive” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Barclays set a $313.00 price objective on Travelers Companies in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $289.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.31.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TRV opened at $268.61 on Friday. 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 Travelers Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $230.23 and a one year high of $287.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $273.86 and a 200 day moving average of $268.09.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The insurance provider reported $8.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.01 by $2.13. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The firm had revenue of $11.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.24 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th will be given a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mojgan M. Lefebvre sold 16,820 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.54, for a total transaction of $4,668,222.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 8,572 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.73, for a total value of $2,320,697.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,106,815.74. The trade was a 20.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Company Profile

The Travelers Companies, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance.