Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Sells 16,339 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management cut its Travelers position by 52.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 16,339 shares and leaving it with 14,691 shares valued at about $4.26 million.
• Insider selling continued, with EVP Michael Frederick Klein and Vice Chairman William H. Heyman both reducing their stakes; insiders sold 27,573 shares worth $8.43 million over the last three months.
• Travelers reported strong quarterly results and raised its dividend, posting $7.71 EPS versus $6.80 expected and increasing its quarterly payout to $1.25 per share from $1.10.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lessened its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 52.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,691 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 16,339 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $4,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,167,000. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 21.7% during the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 48,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $13,472,000 after acquiring an additional 8,600 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,955,000. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 746,883 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $208,545,000 after acquiring an additional 13,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 24.9% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 34,871 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $9,737,000 after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.77, for a total transaction of $3,037,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,125 shares in the company, valued at $13,707,621.25. This trade represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,557 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.64, for a total value of $483,666.48. Following the transaction, the insider owned 259,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,639,037.60. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,573 shares of company stock valued at $8,427,646. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

TRV opened at $306.67 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $293.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $65.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.19 and a 12-month high of $313.12.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 24.06% and a net margin of 15.54%.The firm had revenue of $11.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.91 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28.03 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 Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This is a boost from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is 13.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on TRV. Bank of America decreased their target price on Travelers Companies from $259.00 to $257.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on Travelers Companies from $312.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Travelers Companies from $340.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $309.13.

Travelers Companies 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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