Korea Investment CORP Increases Stock Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in The Travelers Companies by 88.4% to 274,562 shares (about $76.66M), part of institutional ownership of roughly 82.45%.
• Travelers posted a strong quarter (EPS $11.13 vs. $8.34 expected; revenue $12.43B) and the board authorized a $5.00 billion share buyback while declaring a $1.10 quarterly dividend (1.4% yield).
• Company insiders — including the CEO and an EVP — sold sizable stakes (≈92,845 shares, ~$27.24M over 90 days), and analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $304.33 price target.

Korea Investment CORP boosted its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 274,562 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 128,809 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.12% of Travelers Companies worth $76,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avalon Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 7,541 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,018,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429 shares during the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 21.7% during the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 48,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $13,472,000 after purchasing an additional 8,600 shares during the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 32.3% during the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 26,228 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,323,000 after purchasing an additional 6,408 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its position in Travelers Companies by 1.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 746,883 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $208,545,000 after purchasing an additional 13,120 shares during the period. Finally, Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $7,955,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TRV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $304.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Argus upgraded Travelers Companies to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $304.33.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In other news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.75, for a total transaction of $3,127,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 117,596 shares in the company, valued at $35,366,997. This trade represents a 8.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 55,733 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.70, for a total value of $16,424,515.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,329 shares in the company, valued at $76,718,956.30. This trade represents a 17.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 92,845 shares of company stock worth $27,239,631 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE TRV opened at $306.43 on Monday. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.43 and a 12 month high of $313.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $66.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.49. The stock's 50 day moving average is $290.84 and its 200 day moving average is $283.44.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.34 by $2.79. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is 15.98%.

Travelers Companies announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Travelers Companies 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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