Pacer Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. by 55.8%, now holding 11,533 shares valued at approximately $3,050,000.
• Insider trading activity included EVP Gregory C. Toczydlowski selling 11,505 shares for over $3 million, marking a 38.45% reduction in his position.
• Travelers Companies announced a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.69%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 55.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,533 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 14,532 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $3,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in Travelers Companies by 700.0% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In related news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 35,456 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 262,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,820,433.62. This trade represents a 11.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 20,286 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were 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 $7,365,363.36. The trade was a 42.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 175,374 shares of company stock valued at $47,929,912 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Travelers Companies stock traded down $2.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $257.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 391,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,345,499. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $264.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $257.57. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $206.43 and a one year high of $277.83. The company has a market capitalization of $57.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on TRV. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI increased 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. Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 target price on shares of Travelers Companies and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Travelers Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $280.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $279.82.

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.