Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 140,927 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,970 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $33,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $560,918,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $138,619,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $96,012,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Travelers Companies by 15,056.4% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 238,258 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $57,394,000 after acquiring an additional 236,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 148.0% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 334,053 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $80,470,000 after purchasing an additional 199,340 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Hsbc Global Res cut Travelers Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $278.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $213.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $260.00.

Travelers Companies Trading Down 7.8 %

NYSE:TRV opened at $242.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $252.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.74. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $200.21 and a 12-month high of $269.56. The firm has a market cap of $55.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.48.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $9.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.50 by $2.65. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.77% and a return on equity of 19.06%. The company had revenue of $12.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.01 EPS. Travelers Companies’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is currently 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.