Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Reduces Stock Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC has reduced its stake in The Travelers Companies by 15.9%, owning 6,580 shares worth approximately $1.74 million after selling 1,241 shares recently.
• The Travelers Companies reported earnings of $6.51 per share, significantly above analysts' expectations of $3.52, and achieved a revenue of $11.54 billion, up 7.4% year-over-year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share with a yield of 1.7%, to be paid on September 30th, indicating a payout ratio of 19.46%.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lessened its stake in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 15.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,580 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,241 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $1,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 700.0% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Trading Down 0.8%

TRV stock opened at $258.27 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $264.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $257.72. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.43 and a fifty-two week high of $277.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $58.14 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $6.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.52 by $2.99. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 18.68%. The firm had revenue of $11.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.51 earnings per share. Travelers Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 19.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TRV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays cut shares of Travelers Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $280.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $264.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $279.82.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In related news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 20,286 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,365,363.36. This trade represents a 42.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 23,434 shares of Travelers Companies 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 directly owned 48,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,254,650.91. The trade was a 32.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 175,374 shares of company stock valued at $47,929,912 in the last 90 days. 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.

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