JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reduces Stock Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its Travelers Companies stake by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 577,610 shares and leaving it with about 7.17 million shares valued at roughly $2.08 billion.
• Travelers also saw mixed sentiment from other investors and analysts: while several funds added shares, insider selling continued, and the stock’s consensus analyst rating remains Hold with an average price target of $311.47.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share from $1.10.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,168,621 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 577,610 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 3.21% of Travelers Companies worth $2,079,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,109,933 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,413,207,000 after buying an additional 110,311 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $723,339,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,785,288 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $496,872,000 after purchasing an additional 331,170 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,774,756 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $514,786,000 after purchasing an additional 89,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,711,785 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $496,520,000 after purchasing an additional 41,769 shares in the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 2,867 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.45, for a total transaction of $869,991.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,607,678.10. This trade represents a 35.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.65, for a total transaction of $3,076,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,882,706.25. This trade represents a 18.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 37,573 shares of company stock valued at $11,504,146 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TRV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $312.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $259.00 to $257.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Travelers Companies from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $316.00 to $322.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $311.47.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE TRV opened at $296.71 on Tuesday. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.19 and a 1 year high of $313.12. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $299.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $294.13. The firm has a market cap of $63.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.48. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.91. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 24.06%. The firm had revenue of $11.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.91 earnings per share. Travelers Companies's revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.09%.

About Travelers Companies

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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