Advisors Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Advisors Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 13.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,720 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 259 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TRV. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 700.0% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Travelers Companies stock opened at $278.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $266.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $263.48. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $224.62 and a 52 week high of $280.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $6.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $2.99. The company had revenue of $11.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 10.97%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Gregory C. Toczydlowski sold 11,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.12, for a total transaction of $3,061,710.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,416 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,865.92. This represents a 38.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mojgan M. Lefebvre sold 16,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.54, for a total value of $4,668,222.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on TRV shares. Citigroup started coverage on Travelers Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $291.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Travelers Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays downgraded Travelers Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $280.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 target price on Travelers Companies and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $284.56.

Travelers Companies 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.