The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Shares Sold by Banco Santander S.A.

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. has reduced its stake in The Travelers Companies by 39.2%, owning 40,558 shares valued at approximately $10.7 million after selling 26,131 shares.
• Travelers Companies reported an EPS of $6.51 for the latest quarter, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate and showing a 7.4% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share, with a total annualized dividend yield of 1.7% and a payout ratio of 19.46%.

Banco Santander S.A. cut its stake in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 39.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,558 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 26,131 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $10,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TRV. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,277,851 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,439,392,000 after buying an additional 229,160 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,752,484 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $903,937,000 after purchasing an additional 70,036 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Travelers Companies by 236.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,466,098 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,377,966 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $813,704,000 after purchasing an additional 243,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,329,232 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $801,979,000 after buying an additional 364,379 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $288.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays downgraded Travelers Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $280.00 to $274.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Travelers Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $279.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Travelers Companies news, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 23,434 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 48,387 shares in the company, valued at $13,254,650.91. The trade was a 32.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 15,180 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.87, for a total value of $4,142,166.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,657,685.25. The trade was a 71.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 175,374 shares of company stock worth $47,929,912 in the last quarter. 1.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of Travelers Companies stock traded down $4.36 on Thursday, hitting $263.22. 161,928 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,336,812. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $263.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.23. 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 $59.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.51. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $6.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $2.99. The firm had revenue of $11.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.51 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is currently 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.