Washington Trust Bank Makes New Investment in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Washington Trust Bank bought a new stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,218 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in TRV. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 236.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,507,219 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $844,854,000 after acquiring an additional 2,466,098 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $560,918,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 31,132.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,203,481 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $582,733,000 after purchasing an additional 2,196,426 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 153.8% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,497,339 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $360,694,000 after purchasing an additional 907,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,329,232 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $801,979,000 after purchasing an additional 364,379 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

TRV traded down $2.72 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $256.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,522,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,286,563. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $267.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.53. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $202.69 and a 52-week high of $277.83. The company has a market capitalization of $57.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $1.38. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 16.10% and a net margin of 9.09%. The business had revenue of $10.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.69 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This is an increase from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 36,199 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 118,116 shares in the company, valued at $32,387,407.20. This represents a 23.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.50, for a total transaction of $549,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 163,869 shares of company stock valued at $44,868,201 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on TRV shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on Travelers Companies from $270.00 to $267.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Travelers Companies from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $247.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Travelers Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $270.79.

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.