Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Grows Stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Robeco Institutional Asset Management raised its stake in Travelers by 17.3% to 901,938 shares (about 0.40% of the company) worth $261.6M, and institutions/hedge funds collectively own roughly 82.45% of TRV.
• Travelers delivered a strong quarter — Q4 EPS $11.13 vs. $8.34 expected and $12.43B revenue — and the board approved a $5.0B share buyback (up to 8.3% of shares) while the company pays a $1.10 quarterly dividend (1.5% yield).

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 901,938 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 133,152 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.40% of Travelers Companies worth $261,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the third quarter valued at $125,597,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the third quarter valued at $112,051,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1,641.3% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 379,480 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $105,537,000 after buying an additional 357,687 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the third quarter valued at $99,680,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 4,767.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 338,150 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $94,418,000 after buying an additional 331,203 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 1.8%

TRV stock opened at $297.69 on Friday. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $240.44 and a fifty-two week high of $313.12. The business's 50-day moving average is $298.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $63.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.51.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.34 by $2.79. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 12.88%.The company had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.15 earnings per share. Travelers Companies's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.98%.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In other Travelers Companies news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 55,733 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.70, for a total value of $16,424,515.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 260,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,718,956.30. This represents a 17.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.18, for a total value of $3,011,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 33,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,131,092.84. This represents a 22.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 92,845 shares of company stock worth $27,239,631 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on TRV shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $304.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Brean Capital started coverage on Travelers Companies in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Travelers Companies from $312.00 to $331.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $312.62.

Travelers Companies Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TRV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.