Paragon Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Paragon Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,687 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 59 shares during the period. Travelers Companies comprises approximately 1.4% of Paragon Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Paragon Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $1,768,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,513 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 3.6% in the first quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 5,685 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,503,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc grew its position in Travelers Companies by 5.1% during the first quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,913 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 3.3% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,177 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,220,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 26.2% during the first quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. HSBC lowered shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $247.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Travelers Companies from $270.00 to $267.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Travelers Companies from $288.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $271.11.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:TRV opened at $263.17 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $267.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $254.39. The stock has a market cap of $59.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $200.21 and a 12 month high of $277.83.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $1.38. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 16.10%. The business had revenue of $10.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This is a boost from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is 23.95%.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In other news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 36,199 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.20, for a total value of $9,925,765.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 118,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,387,407.20. This represents a 23.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 20,286 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.48, for a total value of $5,547,815.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 26,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,365,363.36. The trade was a 42.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 163,869 shares of company stock valued at $44,868,201 in the last three months. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.