Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Grows Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has increased its stake in The Travelers Companies by 25.3%, acquiring an additional 390,104 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1,934,625 shares, valued at $511.63 million.
• The Travelers Companies recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share, which will be paid on September 30th, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.6%.
• Travelers reported stellar quarterly earnings, with $6.51 earnings per share, significantly exceeding analyst estimates of $3.52 and reflecting a year-over-year revenue growth of 7.4%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 25.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,934,625 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 390,104 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.86% of Travelers Companies worth $511,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,733,556 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,747,656,000 after purchasing an additional 115,808 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,403,539 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $899,988,000 after purchasing an additional 25,573 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,712,620 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $653,443,000 after purchasing an additional 291,506 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 31,132.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,203,481 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $582,733,000 after purchasing an additional 2,196,426 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 41.2% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,679,275 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $444,101,000 after purchasing an additional 490,039 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mojgan M. Lefebvre sold 16,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.54, for a total transaction of $4,668,222.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory C. Toczydlowski sold 11,505 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.12, for a total transaction of $3,061,710.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,865.92. This trade represents a 38.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on TRV shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $264.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Barclays downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $280.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 price target on shares of Travelers Companies and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $284.56.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:TRV traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $278.83. 852,100 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,107,784. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $266.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $263.38. The company has a market cap of $62.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.53. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $224.62 and a 12 month high of $280.70.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $6.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $2.99. The company had revenue of $11.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 18.68%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is presently 19.46%.

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.