Ancora Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 19,062 The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors purchased 19,062 shares of Travelers Companies during the second quarter, valued at approximately $4.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.45% of the insurer.
• Travelers reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $10.04 versus the $5.41 analyst consensus and revenue of $12.15 billion, ahead of estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25, equivalent to $5.00 annually and a 1.3% yield. Despite several positive analyst revisions, the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating with a $354.26 price target.

Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 19,062 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,203,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Travelers Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,915,909,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Travelers Companies by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,000,457 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,641,093,000 after buying an additional 486,861 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,793,750 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,100,416,000 after acquiring an additional 85,298 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Travelers Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $799,601,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 3.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,484,676 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,016,433,000 after purchasing an additional 123,564 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel Tei-Hwa Yin sold 7,153 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.00, for a total transaction of $2,768,211.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,638,758. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 4,164 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.71, for a total value of $1,610,260.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,048,789.58. The trade was a 44.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 52,667 shares of company stock valued at $19,611,829 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:TRV opened at $371.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $77.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $356.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $319.95. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $252.26 and a one year high of $398.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $10.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.41 by $4.63. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 25.41% and a net margin of 16.95%.The business had revenue of $12.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.51 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 33.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on TRV shares. Roth Capital upped their price target on Travelers Companies from $345.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Travelers Companies from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Travelers Companies from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $316.00 to $322.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $354.26.

Travelers Companies Company 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.

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