Bank of America Corp DE Sells 47,563 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,453,492 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 47,563 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 1.55% of Travelers Companies worth $964,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of TRV. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Travelers Companies by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $789,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth $276,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 1,803 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $842,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 55,567 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $14,866,000 after buying an additional 3,717 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 $1,699,602.75. This trade represents a 73.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.75, for a total transaction of $3,127,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 117,596 shares in the company, valued at $35,366,997. The trade was a 8.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 92,845 shares of company stock worth $27,239,631. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

TRV opened at $304.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $292.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $284.67. The firm has a market cap of $65.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.49. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.43 and a 1 year high of $313.12.

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

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

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Brean Capital assumed coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Travelers Companies from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Travelers Companies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Argus upgraded Travelers Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.33.

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.