Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan Raises Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 49.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,784 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,253 shares during the quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $1,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth $24,167,000. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 21.7% in the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 48,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,472,000 after purchasing an additional 8,600 shares during the period. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the third quarter valued at $7,955,000. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 746,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,545,000 after buying an additional 13,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 34,871 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,737,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TRV stock opened at $299.91 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.78 billion, a PE ratio of 8.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.50. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.19 and a 52-week high of $313.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $299.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $291.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. The firm 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 28.03 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 21st that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This is a boost from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is presently 13.09%.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 2,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.45, for a total value of $869,991.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,298 shares in the company, valued at $1,607,678.10. The trade was a 35.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.77, for a total value of $3,037,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,125 shares in the company, valued at $13,707,621.25. This trade represents a 18.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 27,573 shares of company stock worth $8,427,646 over the last three months. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus raised Travelers Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Brean Capital began coverage on Travelers Companies in a report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Travelers Companies from $340.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $309.13.

Travelers Companies Company Profile

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.