The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV Shares Sold by Synovus Financial Corp

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp has reduced its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. by 7.0%, now holding 49,086 shares valued at nearly $12.98 million, as reported in their recent SEC filing.
• The Travelers Companies reported a significant increase in earnings with EPS of $6.51, exceeding analysts' expectations by $2.99, alongside a revenue of $11.54 billion for the quarter.
• A quarterly dividend of $1.10 will be paid on September 30th, providing investors with an annual yield of 1.6%, while the payout ratio stands at 19.46%.

Synovus Financial Corp reduced its stake in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,086 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,715 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $12,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in Travelers Companies by 700.0% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the first quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 15,180 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.87, for a total value of $4,142,166.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,657,685.25. This trade represents a 71.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 23,434 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.93, for a total transaction of $6,419,275.62. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 48,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,254,650.91. This represents a 32.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 175,374 shares of company stock valued at $47,929,912. Insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on TRV shares. Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 price objective on shares of Travelers Companies and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $264.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $304.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Travelers Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $280.00 to $274.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $284.56.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TRV traded up $1.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $272.43. 807,951 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,233,806. The firm has a market cap of $61.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.51. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $222.21 and a twelve month high of $279.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $6.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.52 by $2.99. The business had revenue of $11.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.02 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 18.68%. The business's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.51 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is 19.46%.

About Travelers Companies

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.