Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) EVP Jeffrey Klenk Sells 16,712 Shares of Stock

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) EVP Jeffrey Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.77, for a total transaction of $4,675,516.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,699,602.75. This represents a 73.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of TRV stock opened at $281.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $62.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $285.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.11. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.43 and a 12 month high of $296.85.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.34 by $2.79. The business had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.13 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.15 EPS. Analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.98%.

Travelers Companies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 21st that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $307.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Travelers Companies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $301.20.

Institutional Trading of Travelers Companies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,047,005 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,898,456,000 after purchasing an additional 313,449 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,746,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,162,917,000 after buying an additional 119,481 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,541,819 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,481,805,000 after buying an additional 54,363 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Travelers Companies by 71,265.9% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,616,826 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $967,646,000 after buying an additional 3,611,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $815,013,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.