Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,782 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 158 shares during the quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ledyard National Bank boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 2,067 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,807 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Willner & Heller LLC boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 1,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 39.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 160 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 40,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $57,726,870.88. This trade represents a 15.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 3,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.45, for a total value of $1,026,433.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,671.75. The trade was a 69.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 63,999 shares of company stock worth $16,580,166. Company insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $241.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $221.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $247.90.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

TRV stock opened at $260.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $59.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.62. 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 Travelers Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.18 and a twelve month high of $269.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.40.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $5.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.45. The firm had revenue of $11.90 billion for 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 business’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 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 18.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.54%.

Travelers Companies Company 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.