Ritholtz Wealth Management Boosts Stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,985 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $9,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $789,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth $276,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,923 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,077,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 99,517 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $23,973,000 after acquiring an additional 29,477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In related news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.50, for a total transaction of $549,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 255,086 shares of the company's stock, valued at $70,021,107. This represents a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 20,286 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 26,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,365,363.36. The trade was a 42.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 163,869 shares of company stock valued at $44,868,201 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of TRV traded down $2.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $263.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 992,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,288,930. The company's 50-day moving average is $264.17 and its 200-day moving average is $254.16. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $200.21 and a 52-week high of $277.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last announced 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 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.69 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This is a boost from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $247.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. HSBC cut shares of Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 target price on shares of Travelers Companies and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $287.00 to $280.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Three research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $271.11.

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.