Empowered Funds LLC Increases Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 97.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,271 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,006 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $4,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in Travelers Companies by 12.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,048,691 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,289,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,909 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Travelers Companies by 23,378.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 520,291 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $121,811,000 after purchasing an additional 518,075 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Travelers Companies by 66.9% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 705,793 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $166,645,000 after purchasing an additional 282,884 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Travelers Companies in the third quarter valued at $54,988,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Travelers Companies by 216.3% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 339,901 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $79,582,000 after purchasing an additional 232,428 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on TRV shares. Barclays raised their target price 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 reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $268.00 price target (down previously from $273.00) on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $244.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $260.47.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,410 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.80, for a total transaction of $2,725,338.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 111,162 shares in the company, valued at $29,102,211.60. This trade represents a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 3,740 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.80, for a total transaction of $990,352.00. Following the sale, the insider now 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. 1.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Travelers Companies stock traded down $4.76 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $238.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,348,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,409,407. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $200.21 and a 1-year high of $269.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $242.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $240.63. The company has a market cap of $54.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.64.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $9.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $12.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.01 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 20.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.56%.

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.