Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $3.31 Million Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 25.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,499 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,521 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $3,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.50, for a total transaction of $549,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 20,286 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 26,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,365,363.36. The trade was a 42.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 163,869 shares of company stock worth $44,868,201 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Trading Down 0.7%

Travelers Companies stock traded down $1.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $261.20. 1,326,322 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,293,618. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $200.21 and a fifty-two week high of $277.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.53. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $262.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $254.17.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $1.38. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 19.06% and a net margin of 10.77%. The business had revenue of $10.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.69 EPS. On average, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is an increase from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on TRV. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Travelers Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $290.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $247.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.