Equity Investment Corp Sells 104,900 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Equity Investment Corp cut its Travelers stake by 31.6%, selling 104,900 shares in the third quarter; it retained 226,703 shares valued at about $80.8 million.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $370.83, with ratings ranging from Strong Buy to Sell.
• Travelers reported quarterly earnings of $9.18 per share, beating estimates of $7.39, and revenue of $12.41 billion; it also announced a $1.25 quarterly dividend.

Equity Investment Corp reduced its position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 31.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,703 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 104,900 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp owned about 0.11% of Travelers Companies worth $80,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Travelers Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Latitude Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, NFSG Corp boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 1,311.1% in the 1st quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 127 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore dropped their target price on Travelers Companies from $372.00 to $342.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $384.00 price target (up from $363.00) on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $351.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Bank of America increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $301.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Travelers Companies from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $370.83.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 1.4%

Travelers Companies stock opened at $400.89 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $378.86 and its 200-day moving average is $333.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $268.00 and a 1 year high of $418.00. The company has a market cap of $82.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.40.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 16th. The insurance provider reported $9.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.39 by $1.79. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 26.19%. The business had revenue of $12.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.14 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 36.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 10th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.11%.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In other news, EVP Mojgan M. Lefebvre sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.84, for a total transaction of $4,332,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,332,240. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 9,016 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total value of $3,656,619.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at $2,463,837.75. The trade was a 59.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 195,287 shares of company stock valued at $77,818,050 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Company Profile

The Travelers Companies, Inc. is a property and casualty insurance provider serving individuals, businesses and organizations. Its products include personal auto and homeowners insurance, as well as commercial coverage such as property, general liability, workers' compensation and commercial auto insurance. The company also provides surety bonds and specialty insurance, including coverage for businesses and professional services. Travelers distributes many of its products through independent agents and brokers.

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