AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Acquires Shares of 449,813 The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 449,813 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $125,597,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Travelers Companies by 71,265.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,616,826 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $967,646,000 after acquiring an additional 3,611,758 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the second quarter worth about $815,013,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Travelers Companies by 10.9% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,626,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,040,475,000 after purchasing an additional 751,715 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Travelers Companies in the third quarter valued at about $112,051,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Travelers Companies by 1,641.3% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 379,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $105,537,000 after buying an additional 357,687 shares in the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of TRV stock opened at $281.90 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $284.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.34. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.43 and a fifty-two week high of $296.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.34 by $2.79. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The business had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.98%.

Travelers Companies declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 21st that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on TRV shares. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $309.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $284.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.77, for a total value of $4,675,516.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,699,602.75. This represents a 73.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.25, for a total transaction of $6,956,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,932 shares in the company, valued at $7,493,829. This trade represents a 48.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,435 shares of company stock worth $15,366,736. 1.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.