Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 281,658 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 83.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 56,492 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 281,658 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $16,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Travelers Companies by 134.1% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on TRV shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Travelers Companies from $307.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays decreased their price target on Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $312.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Travelers Companies to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research downgraded Travelers Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $304.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $306.79.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 0.1%

Travelers Companies stock opened at $290.92 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $295.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $285.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.43 and a 52 week high of $313.12.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released 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 return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 12.88%.The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

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

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Travelers Companies news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 55,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.70, for a total value of $16,424,515.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,329 shares in the company, valued at $76,718,956.30. The trade was a 17.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.77, for a total transaction of $4,675,516.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,699,602.75. The trade was a 73.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 92,845 shares of company stock worth $27,239,631. Company insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies 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.