Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) EVP Diane Kurtzman Sells 2,867 Shares

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 2,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.45, for a total value of $869,991.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,607,678.10. This trade represents a 35.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Travelers Companies stock opened at $301.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $64.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $299.71 and its 200-day moving average is $288.37. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $249.19 and a one year 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.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $11.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.11 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 24.06% and a net margin of 15.54%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.09%.

Travelers Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on TRV. Brean Capital began coverage on Travelers Companies in a report on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Travelers Companies from $302.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Travelers Companies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $309.13.

Institutional Trading of Travelers Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 21.7% in the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 48,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,472,000 after buying an additional 8,600 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 746,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $208,545,000 after buying an additional 13,120 shares during the period. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $7,955,000. Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 32.3% in the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 26,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,323,000 after buying an additional 6,408 shares during the period. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 24.9% in the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 34,871 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,737,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

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.