Prudential Financial Inc. Grows Stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 73.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 269,995 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 114,095 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.12% of Travelers Companies worth $65,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of TRV. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,617,748 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,207,499,000 after purchasing an additional 117,108 shares during the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $789,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Travelers Companies by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 197,793 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,646,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth $1,107,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $618,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on TRV shares. StockNews.com cut Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Travelers Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. HSBC lowered shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $268.00 price objective (down from $273.00) on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $260.00.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

NYSE TRV opened at $259.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $200.21 and a 1-year high of $269.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $248.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.60.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $9.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.50 by $2.65. The firm had revenue of $12.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.77% and a return on equity of 19.06%. Travelers Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.01 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 19.56%.

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.