The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Holdings Trimmed by Cozad Asset Management Inc.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 39.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,568 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,038 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PFG Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 108.8% during the 1st 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. Yoffe Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,202,000. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 60,953 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $16,120,000 after buying 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 approximately $208,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 15,180 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.87, for a total transaction 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 $1,657,685.25. This trade represents a 71.42% 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, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 20,286 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.48, for a total value of $5,547,815.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,365,363.36. This represents a 42.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 175,374 shares of company stock valued at $47,929,912. Company insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 target price on Travelers Companies and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Travelers Companies from $304.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group upped their price target on Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $279.82.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRV traded down $1.97 on Friday, hitting $258.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,076,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,317,325. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.43 and a 12 month high of $277.83. The company has a market capitalization of $58.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51. The stock's 50-day moving average is $264.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $257.57. 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 released 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 company had revenue of $11.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.51 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

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

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.