J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Sells 4,318 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• J.W. Cole Advisors cut its Travelers Companies stake by 39.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,318 shares and leaving it with 6,602 shares valued at about $1.9 million.
• Travelers beat earnings expectations in its latest quarterly report, posting $7.71 EPS versus the $6.80 consensus and revenue of $11.92 billion versus $11.11 billion expected.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share from $1.10, bringing the annualized payout to $5.00 and the yield to 1.6%.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 39.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,602 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,318 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $1,915,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,109,933 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,413,207,000 after acquiring an additional 110,311 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,746,231 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,162,917,000 after acquiring an additional 119,481 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $723,339,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 331,170 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 89,159 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRV opened at $303.13 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $64.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $299.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.07. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $249.19 and a one year high of $313.12.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $11.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.11 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 24.06%. The firm's revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. 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. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,557 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.64, for a total value of $483,666.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 259,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,639,037.60. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 6,735 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.78, for a total transaction of $2,079,633.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,049,010.86. The trade was a 12.14% 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 worth $11,504,146 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on TRV shares. Brean Capital started coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Seaport Research Partners set a $322.00 price target on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $312.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $329.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $311.47.

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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