The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in The Travelers Companies by 7.2%, holding 74,327 shares valued at approximately $19.66 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 82.45% of Travelers Companies, with significant stakes recently acquired by Bank of America Corp and GAMMA Investing LLC.
• Travelers Companies reported earnings per share of $6.51, surpassing estimates and showing a 7.4% year-over-year revenue increase to $11.54 billion.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,327 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 5,770 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $19,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Apexium Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $222,000. ICONIQ Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its position in Travelers Companies by 219.3% in the first quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 24,054 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,361,000 after acquiring an additional 16,521 shares in the last quarter. AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $518,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Travelers Companies stock traded up $1.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $271.62. The company had a trading volume of 681,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,184,954. The company has a market cap of $61.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's fifty day moving average is $263.85 and its 200-day moving average is $261.09. 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 fifty-two week low of $222.21 and a fifty-two week high of $279.04.

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

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gregory C. Toczydlowski sold 11,505 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.12, for a total transaction of $3,061,710.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,416 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,865.92. This trade represents a 38.45% 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, EVP Mojgan M. Lefebvre sold 16,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.54, for a total transaction of $4,668,222.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $280.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Travelers Companies to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Travelers Companies from $304.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Travelers Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $291.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 price target on Travelers Companies and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $284.56.

Travelers Companies 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.