Citigroup Inc. Purchases 115,588 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in The Travelers Companies by 47% during the first quarter, owning approximately 361,328 shares valued at $95.56 million.
• The Travelers Companies reported a strong quarterly earnings result, with an EPS of $6.51, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.52.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.7% and a payout ratio of 19.46%.

Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 47.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 361,328 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 115,588 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Travelers Companies worth $95,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TRV. PFG Advisors boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 108.8% during the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 4,255 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 2,217 shares during the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 3.0% in the first quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 60,953 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $16,120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $208,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 47.3% during the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,305 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,403,000 after buying an additional 1,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 200.2% during the 1st quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $870,000 after buying an additional 2,194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on TRV shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Travelers Companies from $288.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 price target on Travelers Companies and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen cut Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $264.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays lowered Travelers Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $280.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $284.56.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of TRV traded down $1.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $268.29. The stock had a trading volume of 712,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,332,495. The company has a market capitalization of $60.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.51. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $214.61 and a 12-month high of $277.83. The company's 50-day moving average is $262.63 and its 200 day moving average is $259.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 10.97%. The business had revenue of $11.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.51 EPS. Travelers Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In other Travelers Companies news, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 23,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.93, for a total value of $6,419,275.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 48,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,254,650.91. This trade represents a 32.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 15,180 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.87, for a total value of $4,142,166.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,657,685.25. This trade represents a 71.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 175,374 shares of company stock worth $47,929,912 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

About Travelers Companies

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.