The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Short Interest Update

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,230,000 shares, a drop of 16.3% from the November 15th total of 3,860,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,220,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 3,740 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.80, for a total value of $990,352.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 250,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,301,683.20. The trade was a 1.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 221,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $57,726,870.88. The trade was a 15.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 78,149 shares of company stock worth $20,295,856. 1.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Travelers Companies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRV. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Travelers Companies by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $610,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 9.3% in the second quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 90,198 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $18,341,000 after buying an additional 1,442 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Travelers Companies by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 20,141 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,095,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the second quarter valued at about $3,388,000. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

NYSE TRV traded up $2.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $246.30. 1,305,614 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,312,710. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.26. Travelers Companies has a 1 year low of $181.03 and a 1 year high of $269.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $55.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.63.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $5.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.79 by $1.45. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 10.02%. The company had revenue of $11.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.95 EPS. Travelers Companies's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Travelers Companies will post 18.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is presently 21.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TRV shares. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $280.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $241.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Travelers Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $217.00 price target (down from $256.00) on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $251.70.

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.