Groupe la Francaise Purchases 4,711 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Groupe la Francaise boosted its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 18.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,711 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $8,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TRV. Avalon Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 23.4% in the second quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 7,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,018,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Travelers Companies by 890.9% during the 1st quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,558 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 480,633 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $127,108,000 after buying an additional 97,247 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 54.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 8,838 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after buying an additional 3,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 168.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 138,278 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,568,000 after buying an additional 86,689 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Travelers Companies in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Travelers Companies from $304.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Travelers Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $291.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.73.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TRV opened at $288.56 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $64.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $278.72 and its 200 day moving average is $271.57. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.23 and a 1-year high of $296.85.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The insurance provider reported $8.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.01 by $2.13. The firm had revenue of $12.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.15 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 12.14%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.24 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th will be given a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.30%.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In other news, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 8,572 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.73, for a total transaction of $2,320,697.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,638 shares in the company, valued at $9,106,815.74. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Olivo sold 8,920 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.73, for a total value of $2,637,911.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 117,596 shares in the company, valued at $34,776,665.08. This trade represents a 7.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,295 shares of company stock worth $13,011,918. 1.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.