The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV Shares Purchased by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC raised its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,302,361 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,577 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.58% of Travelers Companies worth $363,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $815,013,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,626,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,040,475,000 after buying an additional 751,715 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $125,597,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $112,051,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 1,641.3% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 379,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $105,537,000 after acquiring an additional 357,687 shares in the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.77, for a total value of $4,675,516.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,699,602.75. The trade was a 73.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 55,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.70, for a total value of $16,424,515.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 260,329 shares in the company, valued at $76,718,956.30. The trade was a 17.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 92,845 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,631. 1.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TRV. Barclays cut their price objective on Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $312.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research cut Travelers Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $302.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.33.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Travelers Companies stock opened at $306.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $290.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $283.27. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.43 and a 12 month high of $313.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Travelers Companies announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 21st that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is 15.98%.

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.