Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Has $15.50 Million Stock Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in The Travelers Companies by 10.8% in Q4 to 53,447 shares, holdings worth about $15.50 million as of the latest 13F filing.
• Company insiders have been net sellers — including CEO Alan D. Schnitzer who sold 55,733 shares (~$16.4M) — with insiders offloading 103,706 shares (~$31.0M) last quarter and insider ownership at about 1.39%.
• Travelers reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results (EPS $7.71 vs. $6.80 estimate), the board approved a $5.0 billion buyback (up to ~8.3% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $1.25 (annualized $5.00, ~1.7% yield).

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,447 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $15,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TRV. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Travelers Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $125,597,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Travelers Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $112,051,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 1,641.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 379,480 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $105,537,000 after purchasing an additional 357,687 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Travelers Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $99,680,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,785,288 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $496,872,000 after purchasing an additional 331,170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 55,733 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.70, for a total value of $16,424,515.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 260,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,718,956.30. This represents a 17.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 6,735 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.78, for a total value of $2,079,633.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 48,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,049,010.86. The trade was a 12.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 103,706 shares of company stock valued at $30,991,761 in the last quarter. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

TRV stock opened at $301.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $64.11 billion, a PE ratio of 8.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $300.75 and a 200-day moving average of $289.72. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.19 and a 12-month high of $313.12.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 24.06% and a net margin of 15.54%.The company had revenue of $11.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. Travelers Companies's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This is a positive change from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TRV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Brean Capital initiated coverage on Travelers Companies in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Travelers Companies from $302.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Travelers Companies from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $309.13.

About Travelers Companies

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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