Cullinan Associates Inc. Raises Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Cullinan Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 20.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,502 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 3,653 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc.'s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $5,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TRV stock traded up $2.61 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $267.59. 1,116,788 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,287,835. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $266.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $254.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.53. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $200.21 and a 12-month high of $277.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $1.38. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 16.10% and a net margin of 9.09%. The company had revenue of $10.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.69 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. This is an increase from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In other news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 35,456 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.78, for a total transaction of $9,707,143.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 262,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,820,433.62. This trade represents a 11.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 15,180 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,657,685.25. This trade represents a 71.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 163,869 shares of company stock valued at $44,868,201. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TRV. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Travelers Companies from $247.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. HSBC cut Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $288.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut Travelers Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Travelers Companies from $270.00 to $267.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $271.11.

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.