Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) EVP Michael Frederick Klein Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.18, for a total value of $3,011,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,131,092.84. The trade was a 22.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of TRV opened at $292.78 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $284.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $278.21. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.43 and a 12 month high of $304.40. The company has a market capitalization of $65.31 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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 firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

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

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on TRV shares. Argus raised shares of Travelers Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Travelers Companies from $317.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Travelers Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 134.1% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 200.0% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 104 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Travelers Companies during the third quarter worth $28,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.