Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 91.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,428 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 14,415 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,617,748 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,207,499,000 after buying an additional 117,108 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,277,851 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,439,392,000 after purchasing an additional 229,160 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,258,490 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,269,321,000 after purchasing an additional 182,270 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,752,484 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $903,937,000 after purchasing an additional 70,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $844,854,000 after purchasing an additional 2,466,098 shares in the last quarter. 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 recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $287.00 to $280.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 price objective on Travelers Companies and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $271.11.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In other news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 35,456 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.78, for a total value of $9,707,143.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 262,329 shares in the company, valued at $71,820,433.62. The trade was a 11.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.50, for a total transaction of $549,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 255,086 shares in the company, valued at $70,021,107. This represents a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 163,869 shares of company stock valued at $44,868,201. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

TRV stock traded up $0.63 during trading on Monday, reaching $276.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 958,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,294,788. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company's fifty day moving average is $261.47 and its 200-day moving average is $253.59. The company has a market capitalization of $62.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.53. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $200.21 and a 1 year high of $284.86.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $1.38. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 19.06% and a net margin of 10.77%. The company had revenue of $10.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.69 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 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 Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is a positive change from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.95%.

Travelers Companies 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.