Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 8,740 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, adding 8,740 shares to bring its total holding to 94,306 shares worth about $27.35 million.
• Travelers posted a strong quarterly earnings beat, reporting $7.71 EPS versus the $6.80 consensus and revenue of $11.92 billion, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share from $1.10.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has a Hold consensus rating with an average price target of $311.47, even as several firms recently reiterated or raised their targets and ratings.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,306 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,740 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $27,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing 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 worth $28,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Brean Capital initiated coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $329.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Seaport Research Partners set a $322.00 price objective on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $340.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.47.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 6,414 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.06, for a total value of $1,956,654.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,853,239.50. This trade represents a 51.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,557 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.64, for a total transaction of $483,666.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 259,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,639,037.60. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 37,573 shares of company stock valued at $11,504,146 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

TRV opened at $303.74 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.04, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $299.69 and a 200 day moving average of $294.35. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $249.19 and a fifty-two week high of $313.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $11.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.11 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 24.06%. Travelers Companies's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This is a positive change from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is 14.88%.

Travelers Companies Company 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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