The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in The Travelers Companies to approximately 9.59% of the company's shares, representing an investment of about $5.74 billion.
• The Travelers Companies recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.6%, payable on September 30th.
• Analysts have various ratings for Travelers Companies, with an average rating of "Hold" and a price target of $279.82, reflecting a mix of buy, hold, and sell ratings from different firms.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,733,556 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 115,808 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.59% of Travelers Companies worth $5,747,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TRV. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in Travelers Companies by 700.0% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Travelers Companies in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on TRV shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $288.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Travelers Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays cut shares of Travelers Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $280.00 to $274.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $279.82.

Insider Activity

In other Travelers Companies news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 20,286 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.48, for a total value of $5,547,815.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,932 shares in the company, valued at $7,365,363.36. This represents a 42.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 35,456 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.78, for a total value of $9,707,143.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 262,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,820,433.62. This trade represents a 11.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,374 shares of company stock worth $47,929,912 in the last 90 days. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TRV opened at $267.61 on Thursday. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.63 and a 12-month high of $277.83. The company has a market cap of $60.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $258.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $6.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.52 by $2.99. The company had revenue of $11.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 10.97%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.46%.

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.

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