Lighthouse Financial Services Inc. ADV Makes New Investment in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Lighthouse Financial Services disclosed a new fourth-quarter position in Travelers Companies, buying 9,578 shares valued at about $2.78 million.
• Travelers reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $7.71 topping estimates by $0.91 and revenue of $11.92 billion coming in above expectations.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share and has an active $5 billion share buyback program, signaling capital returns to shareholders.

Lighthouse Financial Services Inc. ADV purchased a new position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,578 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,778,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Optima Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TRV has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $316.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Travelers Companies from $259.00 to $257.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Travelers Companies from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $309.13.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

TRV opened at $298.01 on Friday. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.19 and a 12-month high of $313.12. The stock has a market cap of $63.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $300.48 and a 200-day moving average of $290.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.91. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 24.06% and a net margin of 15.54%.The company had revenue of $11.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a $1.25 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is 13.09%.

Travelers Companies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.77, for a total transaction of $3,037,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,707,621.25. This trade represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,557 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.64, for a total value of $483,666.48. Following the transaction, the insider owned 259,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,639,037.60. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,573 shares of company stock valued at $8,427,646. Insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

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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