The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Shares Sold by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 53.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 66,663 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 76,438 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $15,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,048,691 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,289,079,000 after buying an additional 1,568,909 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 5.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,044,839 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $619,241,000 after acquiring an additional 165,708 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,334,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $474,774,000 after purchasing an additional 37,029 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Travelers Companies by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,496,652 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $350,396,000 after purchasing an additional 10,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,388,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $319,348,000 after purchasing an additional 196,011 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $280.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $207.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Travelers Companies from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Travelers Companies from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $251.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 40,524 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.12, for a total value of $10,541,102.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 221,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,726,870.88. This trade represents a 15.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.55, for a total value of $781,650.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 250,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,237,551.20. This represents a 1.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 78,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,295,856 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 1.1 %

TRV stock opened at $266.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.88 and a 12 month high of $269.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.54 billion, a PE ratio of 13.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $248.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.96.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $5.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.45. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 10.02%. The company had revenue of $11.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. Travelers Companies’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 18.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.54%.

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.