Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Insider Sells $2,079,633.30 in Stock

Key Points

• Insider Avrohom Kess sold 6,735 shares on April 28 at an average price of $308.78, raising $2,079,633.30 and reducing his position by 12.14% to 48,737 shares (≈$15.05M).
• Travelers beat Q1 expectations with EPS of $7.71 vs. $6.80 and revenue of $11.92B vs. $11.11B, reporting a 24.06% return on equity and a 15.54% net margin despite revenue declining 1.7% year-over-year.
• The board boosted the quarterly dividend to $1.25 (annualized $5.00, ~1.7% yield) and approved a $5.0 billion buyback program to repurchase up to ~8.3% of outstanding shares.

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) insider Avrohom Kess sold 6,735 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.78, for a total value of $2,079,633.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 48,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,049,010.86. This represents a 12.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of TRV traded down $7.88 on Wednesday, reaching $302.14. The stock had a trading volume of 1,815,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,600,405. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.25 billion, a PE ratio of 8.99, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.51. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $300.56 and a 200 day moving average of $289.29. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.19 and a twelve month high of $313.12.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $11.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.11 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 24.06% and a net margin of 15.54%.The company's revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 27.83 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a boost from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

Travelers Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on TRV. Mizuho lowered their target price on Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $312.00 to $331.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Travelers Companies from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued 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 $309.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,053 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Clare Market Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 1st quarter worth $1,381,000. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 146,990 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,874,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 15,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,558,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Abel Hall LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 1st quarter worth $267,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

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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