The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV Shares Acquired by Palisade Asset Management LLC

Palisade Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,292 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,141 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $8,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $24,167,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 24.9% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Rit Capital Partners PLC purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,450,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 901,938 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $261,616,000 after buying an additional 133,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 192.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 135,330 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,787,000 after buying an additional 89,108 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on TRV shares. Seaport Research Partners set a $322.00 price objective on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Brean Capital started coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Barclays cut shares of Travelers Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $331.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $340.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $297.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $309.07.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TRV stock opened at $304.62 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $249.19 and a one year high of $313.12. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $300.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $294.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.48.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $11.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This is a positive change from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is 14.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 2,867 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.45, for a total value of $869,991.15. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,557 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.64, for a total value of $483,666.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 259,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,639,037.60. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,573 shares of company stock worth $11,504,146. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.