New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 269,341 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 17,600 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $75,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TRV. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 134.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 200.0% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 104 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the third quarter worth $28,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In other Travelers Companies news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.25, for a total value of $6,956,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 26,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,493,829. The trade was a 48.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.50, for a total value of $575,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 255,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,337,225. The trade was a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,435 shares of company stock worth $15,366,736. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on TRV. Wall Street Zen lowered Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, October 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $302.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.80.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Travelers Companies stock opened at $284.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.43 and a 52 week high of $296.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $284.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.52.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.15 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 21st that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $1.10 per share. 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 (DPR) is currently 15.98%.

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.