Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Purchases 6,189 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 31.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,728 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,189 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $7,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its position in Travelers Companies by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 95,451 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,652,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Travelers Companies in the third quarter worth $815,000. Finally, Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 2.1% during the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 18,363 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,127,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Trading Down 0.8%

TRV opened at $281.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $286.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $274.95. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.23 and a fifty-two week high of $296.85. The company has a market cap of $62.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The insurance provider reported $8.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.01 by $2.13. The firm had revenue of $12.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.15 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.24 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is 17.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on TRV shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Travelers Companies from $305.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $312.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Monday, December 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $317.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,803 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.55, for a total value of $522,058.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 255,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,860,151.30. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 25,000 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.25, for a total transaction of $6,956,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,932 shares in the company, valued at $7,493,829. The trade was a 48.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,295 shares of company stock worth $13,011,918. Company insiders own 1.46% 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.