New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Cuts Stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board reduced its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,878 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $2,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 581.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 252 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 2.0 %

TRV stock opened at $238.25 on Friday. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $200.21 and a one year high of $269.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.09 billion, a PE ratio of 11.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $242.76 and a 200-day moving average of $240.63.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $9.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.50 by $2.65. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.77% and a return on equity of 19.06%. The company had revenue of $12.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.01 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 20.57 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.56%.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,410 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.80, for a total value of $2,725,338.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 111,162 shares in the company, valued at $29,102,211.60. This trade represents a 8.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 3,740 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 250,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,301,683.20. This trade represents a 1.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on TRV. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $278.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $268.00 target price (down from $273.00) on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded 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 report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $260.47.

Travelers Companies Company 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.