Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 149.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,556 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,522 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $3,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TRV. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,617,748 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,207,499,000 after purchasing an additional 117,108 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,277,851 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,439,392,000 after acquiring an additional 229,160 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,258,490 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,269,321,000 after acquiring an additional 182,270 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,752,484 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $903,937,000 after acquiring an additional 70,036 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 236.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,507,219 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $844,854,000 after acquiring an additional 2,466,098 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In related news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.50, for a total transaction of $549,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 255,086 shares of the company's stock, valued at $70,021,107. This trade represents a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Olivo sold 36,199 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were 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 now directly owns 118,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,387,407.20. The trade was a 23.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 163,869 shares of company stock worth $44,868,201. Insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC downgraded Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 price target on shares of Travelers Companies and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $290.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Travelers Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $271.11.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:TRV traded up $2.83 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $273.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 695,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,289,844. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $200.21 and a fifty-two week high of $277.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $62.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's 50 day moving average is $262.37 and its 200-day moving average is $254.04.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $1.38. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.77% and a return on equity of 19.06%. The firm had revenue of $10.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is an increase from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.95%.

Travelers Companies Profile

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.