M&T Bank Corp Sells 68,683 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

M&T Bank Corp lowered its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 70.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,431 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 68,683 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $8,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in Travelers Companies in the third quarter valued at about $125,597,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Travelers Companies in the third quarter valued at about $112,051,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Travelers Companies by 1,641.3% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 379,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $105,537,000 after acquiring an additional 357,687 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Travelers Companies in the third quarter valued at about $99,680,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Travelers Companies by 22.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,785,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $496,872,000 after acquiring an additional 331,170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:TRV opened at $302.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $64.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $300.14 and its 200-day moving average is $288.73. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $249.19 and a 1-year high of $313.12.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $11.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.11 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 24.06% and a net margin of 15.54%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 27.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.09%.

Travelers Companies declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Travelers Companies from $316.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Argus upgraded Travelers Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Travelers Companies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $309.13.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In other news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 55,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.70, for a total transaction of $16,424,515.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,718,956.30. The trade was a 17.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.75, for a total value of $3,127,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 117,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,366,997. This trade represents a 8.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,414 shares of company stock valued at $28,428,461. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

About Travelers Companies

The Travelers Companies, Inc (NYSE: TRV) is a leading provider of property and casualty insurance products and services. The company underwrites a broad range of commercial and personal insurance lines, offering coverage designed to protect individuals, small and midsize businesses, and large corporate clients against property loss, liability, and other operational risks. Travelers is known for combining underwriting, claims management and risk control services to help clients prevent losses and recover when incidents occur.

On the commercial side, Travelers writes primary and specialty coverages including property, general liability, commercial auto, workers’ compensation, professional and management liability, surety and inland marine.