Bristlecone Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Key Points

• Bristlecone Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. by 5.2%, owning 20,821 shares valued at $5.5 million after selling 1,142 shares in the first quarter.
• Travelers Companies reported strong earnings with a EPS of $6.51 for the last quarter, significantly surpassing expectations and marking a revenue growth of 7.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.7%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 10th.

Bristlecone Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,821 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,142 shares during the quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $5,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in Travelers Companies by 700.0% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on TRV shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $264.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Barclays cut shares of Travelers Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $280.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 price target on shares of Travelers Companies and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $282.69.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

TRV opened at $265.40 on Friday. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.63 and a 52-week high of $277.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.74, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $263.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.40.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $6.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $2.99. The business had revenue of $11.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 10.97%. Travelers Companies's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In other Travelers Companies news, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 23,434 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.93, for a total transaction of $6,419,275.62. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,254,650.91. The trade was a 32.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gregory C. Toczydlowski sold 11,505 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.12, for a total value of $3,061,710.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,416 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,865.92. The trade was a 38.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 175,374 shares of company stock valued at $47,929,912 over the last three months. 1.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Travelers Companies Company Profile

The Travelers Companies, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance.

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