Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 14,813 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas sold 14,813 shares, trimming its position in Travelers by 12.9% to 99,691 shares worth about $28.9 million at the end of the quarter.
• Travelers beat quarterly expectations with $7.71 EPS (vs. $6.80) and $11.92B revenue (vs. $11.11B), and the company authorized a $5.0 billion buyback (up to 8.3% of shares) while raising the quarterly dividend to $1.25 ($5.00 annualized, ~1.6% yield); consensus analyst rating remains a "Hold" with an average target of $309.13.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 99,691 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 14,813 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $28,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,746,231 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,162,917,000 after purchasing an additional 119,481 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,785,288 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $496,872,000 after purchasing an additional 331,170 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,670,016 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $466,302,000 after purchasing an additional 43,589 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,569,670 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $438,283,000 after purchasing an additional 21,892 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,490,778 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $416,255,000 after purchasing an additional 30,301 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Travelers Companies stock opened at $307.34 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $299.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.60. 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 stock has a market cap of $65.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.51. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $249.19 and a fifty-two week high of $313.12.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $11.92 billion for 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 27.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 21st that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is 13.09%.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.75, for a total transaction of $3,127,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 117,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,366,997. This trade represents a 8.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 6,414 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,853,239.50. This represents a 51.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 95,414 shares of company stock worth $28,428,461 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Travelers Companies from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $340.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $297.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective 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. Two 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Travelers Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $309.13.

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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