ING Groep NV Sells 11,884 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

ING Groep NV lessened its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,440 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 11,884 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $3,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TRV. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 74.2% in the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in Travelers Companies by 39.1% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the third quarter worth $50,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

NYSE:TRV opened at $260.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $243.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $223.99. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.18 and a 1-year high of $269.55. The firm has a market cap of $59.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.62.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $5.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $1.45. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.02% and a return on equity of 17.69%. The company had revenue of $11.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 18.64 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is 21.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on TRV shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $200.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $221.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $247.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Andy F. Bessette sold 4,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.46, for a total value of $1,145,639.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,302,736.96. This trade represents a 21.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 3,941 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.45, for a total value of $1,026,433.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,671.75. The trade was a 69.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 1.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.