Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 24,337 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, adding 24,337 shares to hold 483,342 shares worth about $140.3 million.
• Travelers reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $7.71 beating estimates of $6.80 and revenue of $11.92 billion topping expectations. Despite the beat, revenue was still down 1.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share from $1.10, and insider selling was also notable, with executives selling shares over the past three months.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 483,342 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,337 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.22% of Travelers Companies worth $140,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TRV. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $723,339,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,000,457 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,641,093,000 after acquiring an additional 486,861 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 102.0% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 908,559 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $263,537,000 after acquiring an additional 458,746 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in Travelers Companies during the third quarter worth about $99,680,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 22.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,785,288 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $496,872,000 after acquiring an additional 331,170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE TRV opened at $307.78 on Wednesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $300.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $294.73. The company has a market cap of $65.45 billion, a PE ratio of 9.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.19 and a 52-week high of $313.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $11.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.11 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 24.06%. The business's revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This is a positive change from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 6,735 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.78, for a total transaction of $2,079,633.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,049,010.86. The trade was a 12.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 6,414 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.06, for a total transaction of $1,956,654.84. Following the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 37,573 shares of company stock valued at $11,504,146 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on TRV shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Travelers Companies from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $316.00 to $322.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Seaport Research Partners set a $322.00 target price on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $340.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $309.07.

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.