Insider Selling: Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) EVP Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.77, for a total transaction of $3,037,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,707,621.25. The trade was a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Michael Frederick Klein also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, February 6th, Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of Travelers Companies stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.18, for a total transaction of $3,011,800.00.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 0.2%

TRV traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $301.39. 2,183,711 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,605,191. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $299.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $288.26. The company has a market cap of $64.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.51. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $249.19 and a fifty-two week 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $11.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.11 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 24.06%. The business’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of TRV. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 145.7% in the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% in 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. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 134.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $259.00 to $257.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Monday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $316.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $309.13.

About Travelers Companies

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.