Banco Santander S.A. Has $13.07 Million Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Banco Santander S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,796 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,816 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $13,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Avalon Trust Co grew its stake in Travelers Companies by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 7,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,018,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in Travelers Companies by 21.7% during the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 48,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,472,000 after buying an additional 8,600 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 32.3% during the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 26,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,323,000 after buying an additional 6,408 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its position in Travelers Companies by 1.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 746,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,545,000 after acquiring an additional 13,120 shares during the period. Finally, Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the third quarter valued at about $7,955,000. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $302.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Travelers Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Argus raised Travelers Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.33.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.75, for a total value of $3,127,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.18, for a total transaction of $3,011,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,638 shares in the company, valued at $10,131,092.84. The trade was a 22.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 92,845 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,631 over the last quarter. 1.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Travelers Companies stock opened at $308.53 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 Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.43 and a 1 year high of $309.81. The firm has a market cap of $66.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $289.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $281.79.

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 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 firm had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 1.4%. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is 15.98%.

Travelers Companies declared that its board has approved a stock 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 reacquire up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.