ProShare Advisors LLC Acquires 19,702 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 164,558 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,702 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Travelers Companies worth $47,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,949 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in Travelers Companies by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 10,036 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,911,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Travelers Companies by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Ibex Wealth Advisors increased its position in Travelers Companies by 1.4% during the third quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 2,889 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, JSF Financial LLC increased its position in Travelers Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. JSF Financial LLC now owns 3,944 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Travelers Companies Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Travelers Companies stock opened at $305.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $299.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $292.25. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.19 and a 52-week high of $313.12.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 24.06%. The firm had revenue of $11.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28.03 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.77, for a total value of $3,037,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,707,621.25. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,557 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.64, for a total transaction of $483,666.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 259,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,639,037.60. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,573 shares of company stock worth $8,427,646. Insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Brean Capital assumed coverage on Travelers Companies in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Travelers Companies from $316.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Travelers Companies from $297.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $309.13.

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.