Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Buys 40,712 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in The Travelers Companies by 110.8% during Q1, acquiring an additional 40,712 shares, bringing its total to 77,455 shares valued at approximately $20.48 million.
• Insider selling activity was noted, with EVP Maria Olivo selling 36,199 shares and CFO Daniel S. Frey selling 20,286 shares of Travelers Companies stock, resulting in notable decreases in their respective holdings.
• The Travelers Companies recently declared a $1.10 quarterly dividend per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.7%, to be paid on September 30th to shareholders recorded by September 10th.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 110.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,455 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 40,712 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $20,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TRV. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $789,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $276,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 31,577 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,607,000 after acquiring an additional 2,710 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,389 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,377,966 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $813,704,000 after buying an additional 243,484 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $9,925,765.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 118,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,387,407.20. This trade represents a 23.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 20,286 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.48, for a total transaction of $5,547,815.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,365,363.36. This represents a 42.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 175,374 shares of company stock valued at $47,929,912. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of TRV opened at $265.57 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $262.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $259.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.39 and a 52 week high of $277.83.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $6.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $2.99. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 18.68%. The firm had revenue of $11.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.51 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays downgraded Travelers Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $280.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Travelers Companies to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Travelers Companies from $264.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 price target on Travelers Companies and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Travelers Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $284.56.

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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