Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stock Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in The Travelers Companies by 0.8%, acquiring an additional 25,573 shares, bringing its total ownership to 3,403,539 shares valued at approximately $899.99 million.
• Insider selling occurred recently, with EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk selling 15,180 shares for over $4.14 million, and Maria Olivo selling 36,199 shares valued at nearly $9.93 million.
• The Travelers Companies announced a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $4.40 and a yield of 1.6%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 10th.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,403,539 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,573 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.50% of Travelers Companies worth $899,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TRV. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Travelers Companies by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,733,556 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,747,656,000 after acquiring an additional 115,808 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,752,484 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $903,937,000 after purchasing an additional 70,036 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 236.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,466,098 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 12.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $653,443,000 after buying an additional 291,506 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:TRV traded up $3.8130 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $268.7330. 1,344,731 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,331,469. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.39 and a 52-week high of $277.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.51. The company's 50 day moving average price is $262.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $259.57.

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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $11.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.51 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current 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 currently 19.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Travelers Companies to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $291.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $264.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $284.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In other news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 36,199 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.20, for a total value of $9,925,765.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 118,116 shares in the company, valued at $32,387,407.20. The trade was a 23.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 23,434 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 48,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,254,650.91. This represents a 32.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 175,374 shares of company stock worth $47,929,912. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Travelers Companies 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.