Bank of America Corp DE Sells 152,112 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its Travelers stake by 4.3%, selling 152,112 shares during the first quarter and retaining 3.42 million shares valued at approximately $997.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 82.45% of TRV.
• Travelers reported a strong quarter, with earnings per share of $10.04 versus the $5.41 consensus estimate and revenue of $12.15 billion, ahead of expectations. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $354.26.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, equivalent to $5.00 annually and a 1.3% yield. Several company insiders also sold shares recently, including two executive vice presidents.

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,420,104 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 152,112 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 1.61% of Travelers Companies worth $997,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in TRV. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Travelers Companies by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,109,933 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,413,207,000 after purchasing an additional 110,311 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,000,457 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,641,093,000 after buying an additional 486,861 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,793,750 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,100,416,000 after buying an additional 85,298 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 123,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $723,339,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on TRV shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Travelers Companies from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $316.00 to $322.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Roth Capital increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $345.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. HSBC raised their price target on Travelers Companies from $321.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Travelers Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Four investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Travelers Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $354.26.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

TRV opened at $374.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $78.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.46. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $252.26 and a 12 month high of $398.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $329.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $308.01.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $10.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.41 by $4.63. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 25.41% and a net margin of 16.95%.The firm had revenue of $12.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.51 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 33.47 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Daniel Tei-Hwa Yin sold 7,153 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.00, for a total transaction of $2,768,211.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,638,758. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David Donnay Rowland sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $371.69, for a total value of $1,858,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,894,939.51. This trade represents a 32.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 62,667 shares of company stock valued at $22,688,329 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

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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