PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab Purchases Shares of 257,550 The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought 257,550 shares of The Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) in Q4, a stake valued at about $75.3 million representing roughly 0.12% of the company.
• Travelers beat Q1 expectations with $7.71 EPS vs. $6.80 estimates and $11.92 billion revenue, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 while authorizing a $5 billion share buyback.
• Shares trade near $305 (market cap ~$64.9B) with a P/E around 9.1, analysts’ consensus rating of "Hold" (target ~$309), and insiders sold about 103,706 shares last quarter.

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 257,550 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $75,303,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab owned 0.12% of Travelers Companies as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Travelers Companies by 134.1% during the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 65.3% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 119 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

TRV opened at $304.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $64.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.07, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.19 and a 52-week high of $313.12. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $300.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $289.62.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.91. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 24.06%. The business had revenue of $11.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.91 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This is a positive change from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is presently 13.09%.

Travelers Companies declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $316.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $259.00 to $257.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $297.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $309.13.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In other news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 6,414 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.06, for a total value of $1,956,654.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,853,239.50. The trade was a 51.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,557 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.64, for a total value of $483,666.48. Following the sale, 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. Insiders sold 103,706 shares of company stock worth $30,991,761 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

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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