Argent Advisors Inc. Sells 1,717 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Argent Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,838 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,717 shares during the quarter. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $1,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Travelers Companies by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 905 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Somerset Trust Co grew its stake in Travelers Companies by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 918 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Travelers Companies by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,255 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $275.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $280.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $268.00 target price (down from $273.00) on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $213.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $261.05.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

NYSE:TRV opened at $265.28 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $246.73 and a 200-day moving average of $246.31. The company has a market capitalization of $60.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.60. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $200.21 and a 52 week high of $269.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $9.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.50 by $2.65. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.77% and a return on equity of 19.06%. The company had revenue of $12.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.56%.

About Travelers Companies

The Travelers Companies, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance.