Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $8.72 Million Stock Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,054 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,727 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $8,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TRV. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the third quarter worth $125,597,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the third quarter worth $112,051,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 1,641.3% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 379,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $105,537,000 after purchasing an additional 357,687 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the third quarter worth $99,680,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 22.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,785,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $496,872,000 after purchasing an additional 331,170 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of TRV opened at $299.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $290.49. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.19 and a 52-week high of $313.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.59 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.50.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 24.06% and a net margin of 15.54%.The business had revenue of $11.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. Travelers Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is presently 14.88%.

Travelers Companies declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on TRV shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Brean Capital started coverage on Travelers Companies in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Argus raised Travelers Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $340.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Travelers Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $309.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,557 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.64, for a total transaction of $483,666.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 259,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,639,037.60. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 6,735 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.78, for a total value of $2,079,633.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,049,010.86. This represents a 12.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 27,573 shares of company stock worth $8,427,646 in the last three months. 1.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.