Raymond James Financial Inc. Cuts Stock Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its stock position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. by 1.5%, now owning about 0.25% of the company valued at approximately $149.8 million.
• Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 236.9%, acquiring an additional 2.5 million shares, while GAMMA Investing LLC saw a dramatic stake increase of 31,132.9%.
• The Travelers Companies reported a substantial earnings surprise with $6.51 EPS for the quarter, surpassing expectations by $2.99, along with a revenue increase of 7.4% year-over-year.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 566,605 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 8,841 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.25% of Travelers Companies worth $149,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TRV. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 236.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,507,219 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $844,854,000 after acquiring an additional 2,466,098 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 31,132.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,203,481 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $582,733,000 after buying an additional 2,196,426 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 1st quarter worth $294,755,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 153.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,497,339 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $360,694,000 after buying an additional 907,266 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,934,625 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $511,631,000 after buying an additional 390,104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE TRV opened at $265.57 on Monday. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $215.39 and a one year high of $277.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $262.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $259.43. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $59.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.51.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $2.99. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 18.68%. The business had revenue of $11.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.51 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is 19.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on TRV shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $291.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $280.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 price target on shares of Travelers Companies and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $284.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 23,434 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.93, for a total value of $6,419,275.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,254,650.91. The trade was a 32.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Olivo sold 36,199 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.20, for a total transaction of $9,925,765.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 118,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,387,407.20. This trade represents a 23.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 175,374 shares of company stock worth $47,929,912. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

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.

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