The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV Shares Sold by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance cut its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,424 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $7,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TRV. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Optima Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

NYSE TRV opened at $298.36 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.19 and a 52-week high of $313.12. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $299.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $291.13. The firm has a market cap of $63.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.50.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $11.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This is an increase from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is 13.09%.

Travelers Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on TRV. Argus raised Travelers Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $259.00 to $257.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Travelers Companies from $316.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Travelers Companies from $340.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $309.13.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,298 shares in the company, valued at $1,607,678.10. This trade represents a 35.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 6,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.78, for a total transaction of $2,079,633.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 48,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,049,010.86. The trade was a 12.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 27,573 shares of company stock valued at $8,427,646 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.39% 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.