Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 170 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 3.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,768 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 170 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TRV. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 74.2% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Travelers Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.44, for a total transaction of $2,114,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,820,409.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRV has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $220.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America raised their price target on Travelers Companies from $202.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Citigroup increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $200.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $227.05.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TRV stock opened at $237.83 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $218.12 and its 200 day moving average is $216.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $54.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.62. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $157.33 and a 52-week high of $242.89.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The insurance provider reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by ($0.72). The company had revenue of $11.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.35 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 8.37% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is currently 31.20%.

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.