The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Position Decreased by Garland Capital Management Inc.

Garland Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 14.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,210 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,625 shares during the period. Travelers Companies makes up 5.3% of Garland Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Garland Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $5,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on TRV shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $247.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $288.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $270.00 to $267.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $271.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.50, for a total value of $549,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 255,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,021,107. This represents a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Paul E. Munson sold 4,052 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.29, for a total transaction of $1,107,371.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $200,868.15. This represents a 84.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 163,869 shares of company stock worth $44,868,201. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 0.1%

TRV traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $265.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,979,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,288,522. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $200.21 and a 1 year high of $277.83. The stock's 50-day moving average is $266.19 and its 200-day moving average is $254.20.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $1.38. The business had revenue of $10.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.97 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 16.10%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This is a boost from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is 23.95%.

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.