Empirical Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,563 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $846,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 145.7% during the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Travelers Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.65, for a total transaction of $3,076,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,125 shares in the company, valued at $13,882,706.25. The trade was a 18.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mojgan M. Lefebvre sold 16,313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.38, for a total value of $6,009,382.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,213 shares in the company, valued at $3,393,884.94. This trade represents a 63.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 62,667 shares of company stock worth $22,688,329 over the last quarter. 1.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on TRV. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Travelers Companies from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Roth Capital lifted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $345.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $295.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $295.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $283.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $354.26.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

TRV stock opened at $367.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $76.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.45. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $252.26 and a 12 month high of $398.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $348.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $316.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $10.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.41 by $4.63. The company had revenue of $12.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.26 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 16.95% and a return on equity of 25.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.51 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 33.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.39%.

Travelers Companies 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.