Credit Agricole S A Buys 50,871 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A increased its stake in The Travelers Companies by 55.4%, owning 142,755 shares worth approximately $37.75 million at the end of the last quarter.
• Travelers Companies reported a quarterly EPS of $6.51, significantly surpassing analysts' expectations of $3.52, along with a 7.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $4.40 and a yield of 1.6%, with a payout ratio of 19.46%.

Credit Agricole S A raised its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 55.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 142,755 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 50,871 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A owned about 0.06% of Travelers Companies worth $37,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PFG Advisors boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 108.8% in the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 4,255 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 2,217 shares in the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 3.0% in the first quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 60,953 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $16,120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Travelers Companies in the first quarter worth $208,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 890.9% in the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,558 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 47.3% in the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,305 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Travelers Companies stock traded up $1.4190 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $276.3390. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,457,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,199,581. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $218.57 and a 12 month high of $279.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $263.18 and a 200 day moving average of $260.16. The company has a market capitalization of $62.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 10.97%.The company had revenue of $11.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.51 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 research note on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 price objective on Travelers Companies and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Barclays lowered Travelers Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $280.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Travelers Companies from $264.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $284.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 36,199 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.20, for a total transaction of $9,925,765.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 118,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,387,407.20. This trade represents a 23.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 35,456 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.78, for a total value of $9,707,143.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 262,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $71,820,433.62. The trade was a 11.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 175,374 shares of company stock valued at $47,929,912 in the last 90 days. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.