The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 91.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 492,590 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 235,543 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.22% of Travelers Companies worth $130,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Travelers Companies by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,617,748 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,207,499,000 after purchasing an additional 117,108 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Travelers Companies by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,277,851 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,439,392,000 after acquiring an additional 229,160 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,258,490 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,269,321,000 after purchasing an additional 182,270 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,752,484 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $903,937,000 after purchasing an additional 70,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted 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 valued at $844,854,000 after buying an additional 2,466,098 shares in the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 15,180 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.87, for a total transaction of $4,142,166.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,657,685.25. The trade was a 71.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 35,456 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.78, for a total value of $9,707,143.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 262,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,820,433.62. This trade represents a 11.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 163,869 shares of company stock worth $44,868,201. 1.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on TRV shares. HSBC lowered Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $247.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 price objective on Travelers Companies and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Travelers Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $271.11.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TRV stock traded up $2.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $263.77. The stock had a trading volume of 404,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,290,174. The firm has a market cap of $59.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.53. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $262.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $254.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $200.21 and a fifty-two week high of $277.83.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $1.38. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.77% and a return on equity of 19.06%. The firm had revenue of $10.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.69 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. This is an increase from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is currently 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.