Savant Capital LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Savant Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 11.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 27,828 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,537 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $7,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $789,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $276,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 10.7% in the second quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $554,000. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in Travelers Companies by 2.9% in the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 10,988 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:TRV opened at $300.18 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $284.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $277.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.43 and a twelve month high of $302.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.51.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $11.13 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.98%.

Travelers Companies declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on TRV shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Travelers Companies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen cut Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, October 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Travelers Companies to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Travelers Companies from $307.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Travelers Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.50, for a total transaction of $575,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 255,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,337,225. The trade was a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Olivo sold 8,920 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.73, for a total transaction of $2,637,911.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 117,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,776,665.08. The trade was a 7.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 85,168 shares of company stock valued at $24,835,002. Insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

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.