Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Cuts Stock Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden cut its stake in Travelers Companies by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,260 shares and leaving it with 80,091 shares valued at about $23.2 million.
• Travelers reported strong quarterly earnings, with EPS of $7.71 versus the $6.80 estimate and revenue of $11.92 billion above expectations, even as revenue slipped 1.7% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share from $1.10, while the stock was trading near its 52-week high after a 3.3% gain.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,091 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 8,260 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $23,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 82.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TRV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $259.00 to $257.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Friday, April 17th. Seaport Research Partners set a $322.00 price target on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Travelers Companies news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,557 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.64, for a total value of $483,666.48. Following the transaction, the insider owned 259,590 shares in the company, valued at $80,639,037.60. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 6,414 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.06, for a total transaction of $1,956,654.84. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 37,573 shares of company stock worth $11,504,146 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 3.3%

TRV opened at $303.13 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 stock has a market capitalization of $64.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $299.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $294.00. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $11.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This is a positive change from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is presently 13.09%.

Travelers Companies Company 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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