Natural Investments LLC Has $1.57 Million Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Natural Investments LLC cut its stake in The Travelers Companies by 47.4% in Q4, selling 4,872 shares and leaving it with 5,398 shares valued at about $1.57 million.
• Travelers handily beat Q4 expectations with $11.13 EPS vs. $8.34 estimate and $12.43 billion in revenue, and analysts forecast roughly 17.02 EPS for the current year.
• The board approved a $5.0 billion share buyback (about 8.3% of outstanding stock) and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $1.10 (annualized $4.40, ~1.5% yield).

Natural Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 47.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,398 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,872 shares during the quarter. Natural Investments LLC's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $1,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TRV. Optima Capital LLC bought a new position in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 24,009 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,964,000 after buying an additional 4,296 shares in the last quarter. Third View Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,253,000. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 901,938 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $261,616,000 after buying an additional 133,152 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of TRV opened at $300.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.97 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.51. The company's 50-day moving average is $299.22 and its 200-day moving average is $287.49. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $247.55 and a fifty-two week high of $313.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

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

Travelers Companies declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 21st that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is 15.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.77, for a total value of $4,675,516.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,699,602.75. This represents a 73.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.18, for a total transaction of $3,011,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,638 shares in the company, valued at $10,131,092.84. This trade represents a 22.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 92,845 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,631. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $312.00 to $331.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Travelers Companies from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Brean Capital began coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Travelers Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $312.62.

Travelers Companies Company 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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