Securian Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management cut its stake in Travelers by 43.9% in the fourth quarter, while institutional ownership of the stock remains high at 82.45%.
• Travelers executives also sold shares recently, including EVP Michael Frederick Klein and EVP Diane Kurtzman; insiders have sold 27,573 shares worth about $8.43 million over the last 90 days.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $7.71 beating estimates, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share while maintaining a $5 billion share buyback authorization.

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 43.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,065 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,755 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $1,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Optima Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In other news, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.77, for a total transaction of $3,037,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,707,621.25. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 2,867 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.45, for a total transaction of $869,991.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,607,678.10. This represents a 35.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,573 shares of company stock worth $8,427,646. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of TRV stock opened at $297.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $300.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.92. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.19 and a twelve month high of $313.12. The company has a market capitalization of $63.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.84, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Travelers Companies declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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 paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on TRV shares. Brean Capital started coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $340.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Friday. Argus raised shares of Travelers Companies to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $309.13.

About Travelers Companies

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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