Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Grows Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 19.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,413 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,222 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $3,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TRV. Avalon Trust Co increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 23.4% during the second quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 7,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,018,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429 shares during the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 48,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,472,000 after purchasing an additional 8,600 shares during the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 26,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,323,000 after purchasing an additional 6,408 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 746,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $208,545,000 after purchasing an additional 13,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,955,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on TRV shares. Evercore raised their price target on Travelers Companies from $309.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Travelers Companies to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.33.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of TRV opened at $301.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $291.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $283.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.49. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.43 and a 12-month high of $313.12.

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

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.98%.

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

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In other news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.75, for a total transaction of $3,127,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 117,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,366,997. This represents a 8.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 55,733 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.70, for a total value of $16,424,515.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 260,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,718,956.30. The trade was a 17.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 92,845 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,631. Company insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies 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.