Empirical Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,042 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 1,086 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $3,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 135,957 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $32,646,000 after purchasing an additional 38,515 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,798,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 18,144 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,248,000 after acquiring an additional 4,665 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 49,223 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $11,857,000 after buying an additional 2,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on TRV. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $295.00 to $278.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott lowered Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $280.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $254.65.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 3,941 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.45, for a total transaction of $1,026,433.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,671.75. The trade was a 69.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 3,740 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.80, for a total value of $990,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 250,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,301,683.20. This represents a 1.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 78,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,295,856 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.33% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE TRV traded down $2.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $239.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,346,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,359,736. The company's fifty day moving average is $249.91 and its 200-day moving average is $235.48. The company has a market cap of $54.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.65. 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 Travelers Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $195.57 and a one year high of $269.55.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $5.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.45. The company had revenue of $11.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 10.02%. The firm's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 18.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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.