Strs Ohio Has $13.51 Million Stock Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Strs Ohio cut its Travelers Companies stake by 23% in the first quarter, leaving it with 46,313 shares valued at about $13.5 million.
• Travelers reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $7.71 versus estimates of $6.80 and revenue of $11.92 billion, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $309.07, even as the shares recently traded near a 52-week high of $342.31.

Strs Ohio lowered its stake in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 23.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,313 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 13,825 shares during the period. Strs Ohio's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $13,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of TRV. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth $723,339,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 valued at $4,641,093,000 after purchasing an additional 486,861 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 102.0% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 908,559 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $263,537,000 after buying an additional 458,746 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $99,680,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

TRV stock opened at $341.65 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $306.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.09. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.19 and a 12-month high of $342.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.46. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $11.92 billion during 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is 14.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut shares of Travelers Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $331.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Brean Capital initiated coverage on Travelers Companies in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $297.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $309.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 6,735 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 48,737 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,557 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.64, for a total transaction of $483,666.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 259,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,639,037.60. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,573 shares of company stock valued at $11,504,146. 1.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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