The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services reduced its stake in The Travelers Companies by 3.5%, selling 186,477 shares in Q4 and now holds 5,188,555 shares (about 2.33% of the company) valued at roughly $1.505 billion.
• Travelers beat expectations with Q earnings of $11.13 EPS versus $8.34 expected and $12.43 billion in revenue, and its board authorized a $5.0 billion share buyback (up to 8.3% of shares) while paying a quarterly dividend of $1.10 ($4.40 annualized, 1.5% yield).
• Corporate insiders sold 92,845 shares worth $27.24 million over the last quarter (including two EVPs who sold ~10,000 shares each), and insiders now own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,188,555 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 186,477 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 2.33% of Travelers Companies worth $1,504,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 134.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 65.3% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 119 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $312.00 to $331.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $304.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $312.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.75, for a total value of $3,127,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 117,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,366,997. The trade was a 8.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.18, for a total transaction of $3,011,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 33,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,131,092.84. The trade was a 22.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 92,845 shares of company stock worth $27,239,631. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Travelers Companies stock opened at $297.69 on Friday. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $240.44 and a 12-month high of $313.12. The company has a market capitalization of $63.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $298.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $287.15.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.34 by $2.79. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.15 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is 15.98%.

Travelers Companies announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Travelers Companies Profile

The Travelers Companies, Inc NYSE: TRV is a leading provider of property and casualty insurance products and services. The company underwrites a broad range of commercial and personal insurance lines, offering coverage designed to protect individuals, small and midsize businesses, and large corporate clients against property loss, liability, and other operational risks. Travelers is known for combining underwriting, claims management and risk control services to help clients prevent losses and recover when incidents occur.

On the commercial side, Travelers writes primary and specialty coverages including property, general liability, commercial auto, workers' compensation, professional and management liability, surety and inland marine.

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