Verition Fund Management LLC Sells 20,184 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Verition Fund Management LLC lowered its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) by 6.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 280,760 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 20,184 shares during the period. Travelers Companies accounts for approximately 0.3% of Verition Fund Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Verition Fund Management LLC owned 0.12% of Travelers Companies worth $65,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 3.2% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 31,229 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,311,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,805 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 39,195 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $9,176,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Travelers Companies by 6.9% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 12,687 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,996,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.1% in the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 98,524 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $23,066,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on TRV shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $207.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $280.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Travelers Companies from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $245.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $251.15.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Travelers Companies stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $266.04. The stock had a trading volume of 770,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,304,414. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock's 50 day moving average is $249.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $227.65. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.61 and a 1 year high of $269.55. The stock has a market cap of $60.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.62.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $5.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.45. The company had revenue of $11.90 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.95 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 18.83 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.54%.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In related news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.55, for a total transaction of $781,650.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 250,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,237,551.20. This represents a 1.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 3,941 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 1,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $446,671.75. The trade was a 69.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,149 shares of company stock worth $20,295,856. Corporate insiders own 1.33% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies 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.