CX Institutional Reduces Stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

CX Institutional reduced its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 92.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,792 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 20,505 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Travelers Companies stock traded down $2.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $263.17. The company had a trading volume of 992,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,290,909. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $264.17 and a 200 day moving average of $254.25. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $200.21 and a 52-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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $1.38. The company had revenue of $10.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.97 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 19.06% and a net margin of 10.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.69 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Travelers Companies news, SVP Paul E. Munson sold 4,052 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.29, for a total transaction of $1,107,371.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $200,868.15. This trade represents a 84.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.50, for a total value of $549,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 255,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,021,107. This represents a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 163,869 shares of company stock worth $44,868,201 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TRV shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $290.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. HSBC lowered Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on Travelers Companies from $287.00 to $280.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Travelers Companies from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $271.11.

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.