Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 259,086 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,398 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd owned 0.11% of Travelers Companies worth $68,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 236.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,507,219 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $844,854,000 after purchasing an additional 2,466,098 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter worth $560,918,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 31,132.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,203,481 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $582,733,000 after acquiring an additional 2,196,426 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Travelers Companies by 153.8% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,497,339 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $360,694,000 after acquiring an additional 907,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $138,619,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 20,286 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.48, for a total transaction of $5,547,815.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,365,363.36. This trade represents a 42.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Maria Olivo sold 36,199 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.20, for a total transaction of $9,925,765.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 118,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,387,407.20. This represents a 23.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 163,869 shares of company stock valued at $44,868,201. Insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on TRV. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 target price on Travelers Companies and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. HSBC cut Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $247.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $290.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Travelers Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $271.11.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE TRV traded up $6.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $264.13. The stock had a trading volume of 859,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,283,489. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $200.40 and a one year high of $277.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $267.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $255.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $1.38. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 16.10% and a net margin of 9.09%. The firm had revenue of $10.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.69 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. This is an increase from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.95%.

Travelers Companies Profile

The Travelers Companies, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance.