Sterling Capital Management LLC Purchases 3,235 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management increased its Travelers Companies stake by 14.4% in the first quarter, buying 3,235 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 25,678 shares valued at about $7.49 million.
• Travelers reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings per share of $7.71 versus the $6.80 estimate and revenue of $11.92 billion above forecasts, despite revenue slipping 1.7% from a year earlier.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share from $1.10, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $309.07.

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 14.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,678 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,235 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $7,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $789,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter worth $276,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the second quarter worth $382,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 13.9% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 68,537 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $18,336,000 after purchasing an additional 8,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Travelers Companies by 2.0% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 105,605 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,254,000 after purchasing an additional 2,117 shares in the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TRV stock opened at $327.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $303.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.17. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $249.19 and a 52 week high of $327.64. The company has a market capitalization of $69.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This is a boost from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is presently 14.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on TRV. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $259.00 to $257.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, May 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $340.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $309.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 2,867 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.45, for a total value of $869,991.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,298 shares in the company, valued at $1,607,678.10. The trade was a 35.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 6,735 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.78, for a total value of $2,079,633.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 48,737 shares in the company, valued at $15,049,010.86. This represents a 12.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 37,573 shares of company stock worth $11,504,146 in the last three months. 1.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Travelers Companies 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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