Ethic Inc. Boosts Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Ethic Inc. increased its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,798 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,255 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $14,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $789,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $276,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $382,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 68,537 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $18,336,000 after purchasing an additional 8,383 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 105,605 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $28,254,000 after purchasing an additional 2,117 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $340.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $312.00 to $331.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Travelers Companies from $297.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Travelers Companies from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Travelers Companies from $259.00 to $257.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $309.13.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

NYSE TRV opened at $298.01 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $300.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.19 and a 12-month high of $313.12.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 24.06% and a net margin of 15.54%.The firm had revenue of $11.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.09%.

Travelers Companies announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 2,867 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.45, for a total value of $869,991.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,298 shares in the company, valued at $1,607,678.10. This trade represents a 35.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 6,735 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.78, for a total transaction of $2,079,633.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 48,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,049,010.86. This represents a 12.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,573 shares of company stock valued at $8,427,646. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Travelers Companies

The Travelers Companies, Inc NYSE: TRV is a leading provider of property and casualty insurance products and services. The company underwrites a broad range of commercial and personal insurance lines, offering coverage designed to protect individuals, small and midsize businesses, and large corporate clients against property loss, liability, and other operational risks. Travelers is known for combining underwriting, claims management and risk control services to help clients prevent losses and recover when incidents occur.

On the commercial side, Travelers writes primary and specialty coverages including property, general liability, commercial auto, workers' compensation, professional and management liability, surety and inland marine.

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