The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 144,856 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 14,376 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of Travelers Companies worth $40,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Travelers Companies during the second quarter worth about $815,013,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,626,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,040,475,000 after acquiring an additional 751,715 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $125,597,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $112,051,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1,641.3% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 379,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $105,537,000 after purchasing an additional 357,687 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on TRV. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Travelers Companies from $316.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $304.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Travelers Companies from $307.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Evercore lifted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $309.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.00.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Travelers Companies stock opened at $292.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.31 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.51. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $230.43 and a one year high of $304.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $284.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $278.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.34 by $2.79. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The company had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.15 earnings per share. Travelers Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is currently 15.98%.

Travelers Companies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.77, for a total transaction of $4,675,516.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,699,602.75. This trade represents a 73.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.50, for a total value of $575,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 255,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,337,225. This trade represents a 0.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 105,568 shares of company stock worth $30,974,602 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.46% 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.