Aberdeen Group plc Sells 4,245 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 195,089 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,245 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $56,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Travelers Companies by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,093 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,143,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Ibex Wealth Advisors raised its stake in Travelers Companies by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 2,889 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $807,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,109 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,367,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.4% in the third quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 9,737 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L2 Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 4.1% in the third quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

NYSE TRV opened at $293.98 on Friday. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.43 and a fifty-two week high of $313.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $297.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $286.37. The firm has a market cap of $63.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

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

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Travelers Companies announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 21st that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on TRV. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Travelers Companies from $302.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Brean Capital assumed coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $306.79.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $16,424,515.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,718,956.30. This represents a 17.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.75, for a total transaction of $3,127,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 117,596 shares in the company, valued at $35,366,997. The trade was a 8.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 92,845 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,631 over the last three months. Corporate 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.