Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Invests $815,000 in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 2,919 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $815,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avalon Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 7,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,018,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 135,143 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,735,000 after purchasing an additional 13,758 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 16.4% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 102,911 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,533,000 after purchasing an additional 14,484 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,454,118 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $384,752,000 after buying an additional 22,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in Travelers Companies by 9.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 17,836 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,717,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on TRV. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Travelers Companies from $309.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $312.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.38.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE TRV opened at $284.01 on Friday. 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 Travelers Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $230.23 and a one year high of $296.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $286.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The insurance provider reported $8.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.01 by $2.13. The business had revenue of $12.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.15 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th were given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.30%.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In other news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.25, for a total transaction of $6,956,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,932 shares in the company, valued at $7,493,829. The trade was a 48.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Maria Olivo sold 8,920 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.73, for a total transaction of $2,637,911.60. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,295 shares of company stock worth $13,011,918. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Company Profile

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.