Olstein Capital Management L.P. Sells 2,000 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Olstein Capital Management L.P. lessened its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Travelers Companies comprises about 1.5% of Olstein Capital Management L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Olstein Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $7,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of TRV. Yoffe Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,202,000. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $4,627,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Travelers Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 10,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,414,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Travelers Companies by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 159,172 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $38,343,000 after purchasing an additional 47,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 21,265 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,122,000 after acquiring an additional 3,046 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on TRV. Wall Street Zen upgraded Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. HSBC downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 target price on Travelers Companies and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $288.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Travelers Companies from $270.00 to $267.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Travelers Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $271.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 35,456 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.78, for a total value of $9,707,143.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 262,329 shares in the company, valued at $71,820,433.62. The trade was a 11.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 15,180 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.87, for a total transaction of $4,142,166.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,657,685.25. This trade represents a 71.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 163,869 shares of company stock valued at $44,868,201 over the last 90 days. 1.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TRV stock opened at $273.85 on Monday. 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 Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $200.21 and a 1 year high of $277.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $262.55 and a 200 day moving average of $254.07.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $1.38. The business had revenue of $10.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.97 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.77% and a return on equity of 19.06%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This is a positive change from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is 23.95%.

Travelers Companies Company 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.

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