State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 3,300 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its stake in The Travelers Companies by 3,300 shares (a 5.2% reduction), leaving 60,653 shares valued at about $17.6 million, while institutional investors collectively own 82.45% of TRV with major funds like Vanguard, JPMorgan and AQR increasing positions.
• Insiders sold» Executive VPs Michael Klein and Jeffrey Klenk sold sizable blocks (10,000 and 6,414 shares respectively) and insiders disposed of 95,414 shares worth roughly $28.4 million over the last quarter, leaving corporate insiders with 1.39% ownership.
• Travelers beat expectations with quarterly EPS of $7.71 (vs. $6.80 est.) and $11.92B in revenue, announced a $5.0 billion share buyback (up to ~8.3% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $1.25 ($5.00 annual), while trading at a P/E around 9.0.

State of Michigan Retirement System lowered its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,653 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,300 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $17,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,109,933 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,413,207,000 after purchasing an additional 110,311 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,746,231 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,162,917,000 after purchasing an additional 119,481 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,785,288 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $496,872,000 after purchasing an additional 331,170 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,774,756 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $514,786,000 after purchasing an additional 89,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,670,016 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $466,302,000 after purchasing an additional 43,589 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.77, for a total value of $3,037,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,707,621.25. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 6,414 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,853,239.50. The trade was a 51.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,414 shares of company stock worth $28,428,461. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TRV opened at $303.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $300.34 and a 200-day moving average of $289.01. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $249.19 and a one year high of $313.12. The company has a market cap of $64.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.91. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 24.06%. The company had revenue of $11.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 27.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This is a boost from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. 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 1.6%. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is 13.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on TRV. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Travelers Companies to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Brean Capital assumed coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $312.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $309.13.

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.

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