Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 3,132 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. $TRV

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 24.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,132 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $4,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of TRV. PFG Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 108.8% in the 1st quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 4,255 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 2,217 shares during the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 3.0% in the first quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 60,953 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $16,120,000 after buying an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Travelers Companies during the first quarter worth about $208,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 890.9% during the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,558 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,205,000 after buying an additional 4,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 47.3% in the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on TRV. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Travelers Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Travelers Companies in a report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $264.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $284.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Mojgan M. Lefebvre sold 16,820 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.54, for a total transaction of $4,668,222.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gregory C. Toczydlowski sold 11,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.12, for a total transaction of $3,061,710.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,900,865.92. The trade was a 38.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Travelers Companies Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of TRV opened at $282.70 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $272.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $265.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.51. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $224.62 and a 12-month high of $286.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $6.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $2.99. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 10.97%.The firm had revenue of $11.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th were issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.46%.

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.