Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires 55,310 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 69.1% in the first quarter, buying 55,310 additional shares and bringing its total to 135,401 shares worth about $39.5 million.
• Analysts remain mixed on TRV: the stock currently carries a Hold consensus rating with a consensus price target of $309.07, even though several firms recently raised targets or reiterated buy/outperform views.
• Travelers reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 from $1.10, supporting a 1.5% annualized yield.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 69.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 135,401 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 55,310 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Travelers Companies worth $39,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $276,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the second quarter valued at $382,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised 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 last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised 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 last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $340.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $297.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Seaport Research Partners set a $322.00 target price on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Travelers Companies from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $316.00 to $322.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $309.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 6,414 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.06, for a total value of $1,956,654.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,853,239.50. This trade represents a 51.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 6,735 shares of Travelers Companies 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 48,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,049,010.86. This trade represents a 12.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 37,573 shares of company stock valued at $11,504,146 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 2.1%

Travelers Companies stock opened at $341.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $249.19 and a one year high of $342.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.65 billion, a PE ratio of 10.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.46. The business's fifty day moving average is $305.97 and its 200 day moving average is $297.78.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $11.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.11 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 24.06% and a net margin of 15.54%.Travelers Companies's revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This is a boost from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 10th. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.88%.

Travelers Companies Profile

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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