The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Stock Position Increased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,006 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,932 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $15,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Yoffe Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $1,202,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 10,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,414,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 159,172 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,343,000 after acquiring an additional 47,985 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 21,265 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,122,000 after acquiring an additional 3,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 66,689 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $16,065,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. HSBC downgraded Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Travelers Companies from $270.00 to $267.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $247.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $271.11.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In other news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,000 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.50, for a total value of $549,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 255,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,021,107. This trade represents a 0.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul E. Munson sold 4,052 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.29, for a total value of $1,107,371.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $200,868.15. This trade represents a 84.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 163,869 shares of company stock valued at $44,868,201 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of TRV opened at $261.20 on Thursday. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $200.21 and a 1 year high of $277.83. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $262.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.22. The stock has a market cap of $58.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $1.38. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 19.06% and a net margin of 10.77%. The firm had revenue of $10.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. This is a boost from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.95%.

Travelers Companies Company 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.