Groupe la Francaise Raises Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 11.3% during the first quarter, bringing their valued portfolio to $6.76 million.
• Analyst ratings for Travelers Companies show mixed sentiment, with Barclays downgrading the stock while Wells Fargo and UBS raised their target prices; the consensus rating remains a "Hold" with a target price of $284.56.
• Travelers Companies recently announced a dividend payment of $1.10 per share, reflecting a 1.6% yield based on an annualized payout of $4.40.

Groupe la Francaise grew its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 11.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,716 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,621 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $6,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 700.0% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Travelers Companies during the first quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on TRV. Wall Street Zen lowered Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays lowered Travelers Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $280.00 to $274.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 price target on Travelers Companies and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Travelers Companies from $304.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Travelers Companies from $264.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $284.56.

Insider Activity

In other Travelers Companies news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 20,286 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.48, for a total transaction of $5,547,815.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 26,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,365,363.36. The trade was a 42.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 23,434 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.93, for a total value of $6,419,275.62. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 48,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,254,650.91. This trade represents a 32.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 175,374 shares of company stock valued at $47,929,912. 1.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TRV traded down $3.8490 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $272.4410. The company had a trading volume of 1,058,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,212,750. The company has a market capitalization of $61.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.51. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.93 and a 1 year high of $279.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $263.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.54.

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

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid 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 yield of 1.6%. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is 19.46%.

Travelers Companies Company Profile

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.