The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. trimmed its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,112,951 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 52,966 shares during the quarter. Travelers Companies makes up approximately 1.5% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.50% of Travelers Companies worth $310,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRV. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 134.1% during the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% during the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Travelers Companies in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Travelers Companies in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Travelers Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on TRV shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Travelers Companies to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $309.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of 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, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Travelers Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.33.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In other news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,699,602.75. This represents a 73.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,131,092.84. This represents a 22.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 92,845 shares of company stock worth $27,239,631 over the last 90 days. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

TRV stock opened at $308.53 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $289.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $282.00. The company has a market capitalization of $66.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.43 and a fifty-two week high of $309.81.

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

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 given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.98%.

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

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.