The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Stake Raised by Townsquare Capital LLC

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC has increased its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. by 35.7%, owning 15,096 shares, valued at approximately $3.99 million.
• Insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 23,434 shares of Travelers, resulting in a 32.63% decrease in ownership, while Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,000 shares, decreasing their stake by 0.78%.
• The Travelers Companies reported strong quarterly earnings, with $6.51 earnings per share, surpassing analyst estimates by $2.99 and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 7.4%.

Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 35.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,096 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $3,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Founders Financial Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the first quarter worth $240,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 47.0% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 361,328 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $95,557,000 after purchasing an additional 115,588 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 913 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Travelers Companies by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 521,345 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $137,875,000 after buying an additional 44,354 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 13.9% in the first quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 319 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 36,199 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.20, for a total transaction of $9,925,765.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 118,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,387,407.20. This represents a 23.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gregory C. Toczydlowski sold 11,505 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.12, for a total transaction of $3,061,710.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,416 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,865.92. This represents a 38.45% 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 over the last quarter. 1.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on TRV shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $291.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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 cut shares of Travelers Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $280.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $304.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $284.56.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

NYSE:TRV traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $268.67. 1,505,237 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,335,534. 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 Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $214.61 and a 52-week high of $277.83. The company has a market cap of $60.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $262.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $259.05.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $6.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $2.99. The business had revenue of $11.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 10.97%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.51 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

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

Travelers Companies 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.