Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in The Travelers Companies by 12.4%, resulting in holdings of 10,682 shares valued at approximately $2.825 million.
• Insider sales included significant transactions by EVP Maria Olivo and CFO Daniel S. Frey, with Olivo selling 36,199 shares for nearly $9.93 million and Frey selling 20,286 shares for about $5.55 million.
• Travelers Companies reported earnings of $6.51 per share, surpassing estimates, alongside a revenue increase of 7.4% year-over-year, bringing total revenue to $11.54 billion in the last quarter.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 12.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,682 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,519 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $2,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TRV. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $789,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth $276,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,929 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,319,000 after buying an additional 2,456 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 119.2% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,815 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,401,000 after buying an additional 3,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth $352,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. 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. Barclays downgraded Travelers Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $280.00 to $274.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $304.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Travelers Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $282.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 36,199 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.20, for a total value of $9,925,765.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 118,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,387,407.20. This trade represents a 23.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 20,286 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.48, for a total value of $5,547,815.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 26,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,365,363.36. This trade represents a 42.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 175,374 shares of company stock valued at $47,929,912. 1.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:TRV opened at $265.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $263.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $258.58. The stock has a market cap of $59.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.72, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.51. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.63 and a 1-year high of $277.83.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $6.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.52 by $2.99. The company had revenue of $11.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.02 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 18.68%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.51 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.46%.

About Travelers Companies

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.

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