The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV Shares Acquired by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Key Points

• Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. by 41.2% in Q1, making the stock its 10th largest position with an ownership of about $444 million.
• Several other large investors, including Bank of America and GAMMA Investing, have also significantly increased their stakes in Travelers Companies, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Travelers Companies announced a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.6%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 19.46% as of recent reports.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 41.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,679,275 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 490,039 shares during the quarter. Travelers Companies accounts for 2.3% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.74% of Travelers Companies worth $444,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TRV. Groupe la Francaise raised its position in Travelers Companies by 11.3% in the first quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 25,716 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,755,000 after purchasing an additional 2,621 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 668.4% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,895 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 4,258 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 14.8% in the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 3,196 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Wealth Management Group Inc bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 8.7% in the first quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 21,502 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,686,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of TRV traded down $3.8490 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $272.4410. 1,058,268 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,212,750. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $61.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.51. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.93 and a 52 week high of $279.04. The company's 50 day moving average is $263.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.54.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $6.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.52 by $2.99. The company had revenue of $11.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.02 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 10.97%.The firm's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is presently 19.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on TRV shares. Citigroup started coverage on Travelers Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $291.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $304.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $264.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays lowered Travelers Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $280.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 price objective on Travelers Companies and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $284.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In other Travelers Companies news, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 23,434 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 48,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,254,650.91. This represents a 32.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 20,286 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,932 shares in the company, valued at $7,365,363.36. This trade represents a 42.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 175,374 shares of company stock worth $47,929,912. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Company 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.