Harfst & Associates Inc. Sells 5,793 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Harfst & Associates Inc. reduced its stake in The Travelers Companies by 59.8%, selling 5,793 shares and now holding 3,898 shares worth approximately $1.03 million.
• Insider activities saw Maria Olivo, EVP, sell 36,199 shares, while CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 20,286 shares, signaling significant changes in insider ownership.
• The Travelers Companies reported a record earnings per share of $6.51 for the last quarter, far exceeding the consensus estimate of $3.52, indicating strong financial performance.

Harfst & Associates Inc. decreased its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 59.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,898 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 5,793 shares during the period. Harfst & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $1,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of TRV. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 236.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,507,219 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $844,854,000 after buying an additional 2,466,098 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 31,132.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,203,481 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $582,733,000 after purchasing an additional 2,196,426 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $294,755,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 153.8% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,497,339 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $360,694,000 after purchasing an additional 907,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,934,625 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $511,631,000 after purchasing an additional 390,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on TRV shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Travelers Companies to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Barclays cut Travelers Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $280.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup started coverage on Travelers Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $291.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $284.56.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:TRV traded up $2.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $267.67. 357,984 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,328,704. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.39 and a twelve month high of $277.83. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $262.36 and a 200 day moving average of $259.57. The stock has a market cap of $60.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 23,434 shares of the firm's 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 $13,254,650.91. This trade represents a 32.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Maria Olivo sold 36,199 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.20, for a total value of $9,925,765.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 118,116 shares in the company, valued at $32,387,407.20. The trade was a 23.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 175,374 shares of company stock valued at $47,929,912 over the last ninety days. 1.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.