Great Lakes Advisors LLC Trims Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 212,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,838 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $59,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Travelers Companies by 134.1% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 0.2%

Travelers Companies stock opened at $281.90 on Thursday. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.43 and a 12 month high of $296.85. The company has a market capitalization of $62.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $284.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $276.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.15 EPS. Travelers Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.77, for a total value of $4,675,516.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,699,602.75. This represents a 73.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,803 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.55, for a total value of $522,058.65. Following the sale, the insider owned 255,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,860,151.30. This represents a 0.70% 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 have sold 54,435 shares of company stock worth $15,366,736. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRV has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Travelers Companies to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Travelers Companies from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.80.

Travelers Companies Company Profile

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.