SG Americas Securities LLC Grows Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 3,020.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 258,248 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 249,972 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $68,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRV. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 236.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,507,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $844,854,000 after acquiring an additional 2,466,098 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $560,918,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 31,132.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,203,481 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $582,733,000 after buying an additional 2,196,426 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 153.8% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,497,339 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $360,694,000 after buying an additional 907,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $138,619,000. 82.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRV opened at $267.87 on Tuesday. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $200.21 and a twelve month high of $277.83. The company’s 50 day moving average is $262.62 and its 200 day moving average is $254.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $60.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $1.38. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.77% and a return on equity of 19.06%. The company had revenue of $10.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This is an increase from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 23.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Travelers Companies news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 20,286 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.48, for a total value of $5,547,815.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 26,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,365,363.36. This represents a 42.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 35,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.78, for a total value of $9,707,143.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 262,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,820,433.62. This represents a 11.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 163,869 shares of company stock worth $44,868,201. 1.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $269.00 price target on shares of Travelers Companies and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $288.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $270.00 to $267.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Travelers Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $271.11.

Travelers Companies Profile

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.