Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Lowers Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its stake in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,320 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 16,838 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $14,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in Travelers Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. AM Squared Ltd increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 100.0% during the third quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 200 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 3,000 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.02, for a total value of $633,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,215 shares in the company, valued at $467,409.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.02, for a total transaction of $633,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,215 shares in the company, valued at $467,409.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 38,000 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.55, for a total transaction of $8,076,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,147,865.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 68,734 shares of company stock worth $14,637,364. Company insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 0.0 %

TRV stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $214.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 280,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,489,992. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $49.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $157.33 and a 12 month high of $232.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $221.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $197.48.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The insurance provider reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by ($0.06). Travelers Companies had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 13.94%. The company had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.11 earnings per share. Travelers Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This is a positive change from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Travelers Companies from $253.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $220.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. TD Cowen started coverage on Travelers Companies in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $247.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on Travelers Companies from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $241.00 to $231.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.18.

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.