Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Sells 371,868 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 92.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,432 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 371,868 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $8,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TRV. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought a new position in Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $24,167,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 34,871 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,737,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Rit Capital Partners PLC bought a new position in Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $39,450,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 192.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 135,330 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,787,000 after purchasing an additional 89,108 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 901,938 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $261,616,000 after purchasing an additional 133,152 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America cut their target price on Travelers Companies from $259.00 to $257.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Brean Capital assumed coverage on Travelers Companies in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays downgraded Travelers Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $331.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $309.07.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:TRV opened at $307.78 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $300.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $294.73. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.19 and a twelve month high of $313.12. The stock has a market cap of $65.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.16, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 24.06% and a net margin of 15.54%.The firm had revenue of $11.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This is an increase from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is 14.88%.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In related news, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 6,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.78, for a total transaction of $2,079,633.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,049,010.86. This trade represents a 12.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 2,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.45, for a total value of $869,991.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,607,678.10. This represents a 35.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,573 shares of company stock worth $11,504,146. 1.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.