Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 15.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,323 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,964 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $5,639,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Travelers Companies by 700.0% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In other Travelers Companies news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.50, for a total transaction of $549,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 255,086 shares in the company, valued at $70,021,107. This represents a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Olivo sold 36,199 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.20, for a total value of $9,925,765.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 118,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,387,407.20. This represents a 23.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 163,869 shares of company stock valued at $44,868,201 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 1.5%

Travelers Companies stock traded up $3.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $265.77. 1,687,842 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,294,808. The business has a fifty day moving average of $266.00 and a 200 day moving average of $256.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $60.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.51. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $202.95 and a 12-month high of $277.83.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $6.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.52 by $2.99. The company had revenue of $11.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 16.10% and a net margin of 9.09%. Travelers Companies's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.51 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. 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 1.66%. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on TRV shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Travelers Companies from $264.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Travelers Companies from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. HSBC lowered Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $270.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 target price on Travelers Companies and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $274.61.

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.