New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 269,341 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 17,600 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.12% of Travelers Companies worth $75,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $276,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 102.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Travelers Companies by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,447 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Investments LLC boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 6.1% during the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,704 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

TRV opened at $284.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.40 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.52. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.43 and a twelve month high of $296.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $284.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $276.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.34 by $2.79. The company had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.13 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.70%. Travelers Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is presently 15.98%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on TRV. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Travelers Companies from $307.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Travelers Companies to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $317.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $304.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays cut 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, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.80.

Insider Activity

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 8,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.73, for a total value of $2,637,911.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 117,596 shares in the company, valued at $34,776,665.08. The trade was a 7.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.77, for a total transaction of $4,675,516.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,699,602.75. This trade represents a 73.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,435 shares of company stock worth $15,366,736. Company 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.