Academy Capital Management Acquires 5,117 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Academy Capital Management boosted its stake in The Travelers Companies by 93% in Q4, buying an additional 5,117 shares to hold 10,617 shares valued at about $3.08 million, making TRV its 23rd largest position.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — two EVPs sold 10,000 and 6,414 shares at roughly $304 each, and insiders disposed of 103,706 shares worth about $31.0 million in the past 90 days.
• Travelers reported an earnings beat (EPS $7.71 vs. $6.80 expected), announced a $5.0 billion share repurchase program (≈8.3% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $1.25 ($5.00 annual; ~1.6% yield).

Academy Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 93.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,617 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,117 shares during the quarter. Travelers Companies accounts for 0.4% of Academy Capital Management's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Academy Capital Management's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $3,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TRV. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,109,933 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,413,207,000 after buying an additional 110,311 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Travelers Companies by 1.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,746,231 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,162,917,000 after buying an additional 119,481 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 331,170 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Travelers Companies by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,774,756 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $514,786,000 after buying an additional 89,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Travelers Companies by 2.7% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,670,016 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $466,302,000 after buying an additional 43,589 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.77, for a total transaction of $3,037,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,707,621.25. This trade represents a 18.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 6,414 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.06, for a total transaction of $1,956,654.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,853,239.50. This represents a 51.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 103,706 shares of company stock worth $30,991,761. 1.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRV opened at $304.99 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $300.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.07, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.50. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $249.19 and a one year high of $313.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 24.06%. The company had revenue of $11.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This is a boost from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is 13.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $312.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Travelers Companies from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $340.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $309.13.

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.

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