Commerce Bank Boosts Stock Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Key Points

• Commerce Bank increased its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. by 9.3%, holding a total worth of $6.61 million after acquiring additional shares.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for Travelers Companies, with Evercore ISI setting a new target of $296 and the stock currently holding an average rating of "Hold" with a target of $279.82.
• The Travelers Companies reported an impressive $6.51 EPS for the last quarter, significantly beating analyst expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share.

Commerce Bank grew its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,993 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $6,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 236.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,507,219 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $844,854,000 after buying an additional 2,466,098 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 31,132.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,203,481 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $582,733,000 after buying an additional 2,196,426 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 153.8% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,497,339 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $360,694,000 after buying an additional 907,266 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,329,232 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $801,979,000 after buying an additional 364,379 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,712,620 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $653,443,000 after buying an additional 291,506 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TRV. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $304.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Travelers Companies from $264.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Travelers Companies from $288.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a 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 report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $279.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 20,286 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.48, for a total value of $5,547,815.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 26,932 shares in the company, valued at $7,365,363.36. This trade represents a 42.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 15,180 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.87, for a total value of $4,142,166.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,657,685.25. This represents a 71.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 175,374 shares of company stock valued at $47,929,912. Company insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Travelers Companies stock traded down $1.56 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $266.02. 51,817 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,336,257. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.63 and a 1 year high of $277.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $263.56 and a 200-day moving average of $258.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.51.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $11.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.51 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.46%.

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.