The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 3.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 281,463 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,660 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $65,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. &PARTNERS purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $413,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in Travelers Companies by 0.3% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 50,513 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,271,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 27.7% during the second quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 4,753 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 8.7% during the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 5,088 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In other news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $523,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 250,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,099,840. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 3,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.45, for a total value of $1,026,433.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,671.75. This represents a 69.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 78,149 shares of company stock worth $20,295,856. 1.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Travelers Companies stock opened at $240.76 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $253.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $231.43. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $182.76 and a 12-month high of $269.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $54.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.63.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $5.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.45. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.02% and a return on equity of 17.69%. The company had revenue of $11.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. Travelers Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 18.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on TRV. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Travelers Companies from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Travelers Companies from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $251.70.

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.