Avestar Capital LLC Increases Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Avestar Capital LLC raised its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,320 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ledyard National Bank raised its position in Travelers Companies by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 2,067 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Travelers Companies by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,807 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in Travelers Companies by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in Travelers Companies by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 905 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in Travelers Companies by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 160 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of TRV opened at $238.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $54.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.64. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $200.21 and a twelve month high of $269.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $243.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $240.46.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $9.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.50 by $2.65. The company had revenue of $12.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 20.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Travelers Companies news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 3,740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.80, for a total value of $990,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 250,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,301,683.20. This trade represents a 1.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,410 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.80, for a total transaction of $2,725,338.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 111,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,102,211.60. This represents a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TRV. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $278.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $244.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $260.47.

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.