Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Boosts Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 25,077 shares worth about $7.27 million.
• Travelers posted a strong quarterly earnings beat, reporting $7.71 EPS versus the $6.80 consensus and revenue of $11.92 billion, while full-year expectations call for 28.03 EPS.
• The company also boosted its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share and has an active $5 billion share buyback authorization, signaling continued capital returns to shareholders.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR boosted its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,077 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,376 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $7,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of TRV. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% during the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Optima Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America lowered their price target 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. Brean Capital began coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Travelers Companies from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $309.13.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

TRV opened at $298.01 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $300.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.19 and a 1 year high of $313.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.37 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This is a positive change from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is currently 13.09%.

Travelers Companies declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 21st that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 2,867 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.45, for a total transaction 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 represents a 35.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 6,735 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.78, for a total value of $2,079,633.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 48,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,049,010.86. This trade represents a 12.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,573 shares of company stock worth $8,427,646. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

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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