National Bank of Canada FI Reduces Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. by 9.7%, holding approximately $50.04 million worth of shares after selling 20,227 shares in the first quarter.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $6.51, significantly beating the consensus estimate of $3.52, with revenue increasing by 7.4% year-over-year to $11.54 billion.
• Travelers Companies declared a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share, equating to a 1.7% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for September 10th.

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 9.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 189,220 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 20,227 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.08% of Travelers Companies worth $50,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PFG Advisors raised its position in Travelers Companies by 108.8% in the 1st quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 4,255 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 2,217 shares during the period. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in Travelers Companies by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 60,953 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $16,120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Travelers Companies in the 1st quarter worth about $208,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Travelers Companies by 47.3% in the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,305 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its stake in Travelers Companies by 200.2% in the 1st quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $870,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194 shares in the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on TRV shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $288.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $291.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Tuesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $308.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $284.56.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRV traded up $5.67 on Wednesday, hitting $269.60. 1,409,148 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,336,599. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $211.20 and a 1-year high of $277.83. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $262.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $258.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.51.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $6.51 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 18.68%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is presently 19.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 36,199 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction 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 owned 118,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,387,407.20. The trade was a 23.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 35,456 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.78, for a total transaction of $9,707,143.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 262,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,820,433.62. The trade was a 11.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,374 shares of company stock valued at $47,929,912 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

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.