Verition Fund Management LLC Trims Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Verition Fund Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 6.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 280,760 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 20,184 shares during the quarter. Travelers Companies comprises about 0.3% of Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Verition Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Travelers Companies worth $65,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in Travelers Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in Travelers Companies by 39.1% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 160 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Travelers Companies in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in Travelers Companies by 22.1% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 276 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Travelers Companies stock opened at $266.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.88 and a fifty-two week high of $269.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $248.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $227.23. The company has a market capitalization of $60.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is 21.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Travelers Companies from $241.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $233.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Travelers Companies from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $251.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 3,740 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.80, for a total transaction of $990,352.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 250,384 shares in the company, valued at $66,301,683.20. This represents a 1.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 40,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.12, for a total transaction of $10,541,102.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 221,924 shares in the company, valued at $57,726,870.88. This represents a 15.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 78,149 shares of company stock worth $20,295,856. 1.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Travelers Companies 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.