Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Raises Stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,844 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $3,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,047,005 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,898,456,000 after purchasing an additional 313,449 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,746,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,162,917,000 after buying an additional 119,481 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,541,819 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,481,805,000 after buying an additional 54,363 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the second quarter worth about $815,013,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 14.4% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,547,778 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $414,093,000 after buying an additional 194,698 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

NYSE TRV opened at $305.44 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 company has a market cap of $66.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $288.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $280.86. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.43 and a 1-year high of $309.37.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 12.88%.Travelers Companies’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.15 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board 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 paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is currently 15.98%.

Insider Activity

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 6,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,699,602.75. This represents a 73.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.18, for a total transaction of $3,011,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 33,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,131,092.84. The trade was a 22.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 101,765 shares of company stock worth $29,877,543. Insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TRV. Evercore boosted their price target on Travelers Companies from $309.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Argus upgraded Travelers Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Travelers Companies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.