Abacus Planning Group Inc. Purchases New Shares in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 800 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of TRV. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 82.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:TRV opened at $273.85 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $262.55 and its 200 day moving average is $254.07. The firm has a market cap of $61.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $200.21 and a 52-week high of $277.83.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $1.38. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 19.06% and a net margin of 10.77%. The business had revenue of $10.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.69 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors 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 yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This is a positive change from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 23.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on TRV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Three equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $271.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 20,286 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.48, for a total value of $5,547,815.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 26,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,365,363.36. This trade represents a 42.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 35,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.78, for a total value of $9,707,143.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 262,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,820,433.62. The trade was a 11.91% 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 worth $44,868,201 in the last three months. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Travelers Companies

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.