Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
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Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
The Company’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “TRV.” The number of holders of record of the Company’s common stock was 36,447 as of February 5, 2021. This is not the actual number of beneficial owners of the Company’s common stock as some shares are held in “street name” by brokers and others on behalf of individual owners.
For information regarding dividends paid to shareholders in 2020, 2019 and 2018, and the declaration and payment of future dividends, see "Item 7—Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Financing Activities—Dividends."
SHAREHOLDER RETURN PERFORMANCE GRAPH
The following graph shows a five-year comparison of the cumulative total return to shareholders for the Company’s common stock and the common stock of companies included in the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Property & Casualty Insurance Index, which the Company believes is the most appropriate comparative index.

| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Travelers Companies, Inc. | $ | 100.00 | $ | 110.95 | $ | 125.79 | $ | 113.65 | $ | 132.98 | $ | 140.11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S&P 500 Index | 100.00 | 111.95 | 136.38 | 130.39 | 171.44 | 202.96 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S&P 500 Property & Casualty Insurance Index | 100.00 | 115.71 | 141.61 | 134.96 | 169.88 | 180.63 |
(1)The cumulative total return to shareholders is a concept used to compare the performance of a company's stock over time. Cumulative total return to shareholders is calculated as the net stock price change for the specified time period plus the cumulative amount of dividends (assuming dividend reinvestment on the respective dividend payment dates) divided by the stock price at the beginning of the time period.
(2)Assumes $100 invested in common shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. on December 31, 2015.
(3)Companies in the S&P 500 Property & Casualty Insurance Index as of December 31, 2020 were the following: The Travelers Companies, Inc., Chubb Limited, Cincinnati Financial Corporation, The Progressive Corporation, The Allstate Corporation, Loews Corporation (CNA) and WR Berkley Corporation. Returns of each of the companies included in this index have been weighted according to their respective market capitalizations.
A long-term perspective is particularly important in the property and casualty insurance industry, where the periodic occurrences of significant catastrophes have historically produced results that can vary significantly year-to-year. Accordingly,
the Company manages with a long-term perspective. From January 1, 2007, the year prior to the financial crisis, through December 31, 2020, the Company's cumulative return to shareholders was 270% as compared to 255% for the S&P 500 Index and 182% for the S&P 500 Property & Casualty Insurance Index.
ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
The table below sets forth information regarding repurchases by the Company of its common stock during the periods indicated.
| Period Beginning | Period Ending | Total number of shares purchased | Average price paid per share | Total number of shares purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs | Approximate dollar value of shares that may yet be purchased under the plans or programs (in millions) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oct. 1, 2020 | Oct. 31, 2020 | 269 | $ | 118.18 | — | $ | 1,361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nov. 1, 2020 | Nov. 30, 2020 | 3,579 | $ | 133.11 | — | $ | 1,361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 1, 2020 | Dec. 31, 2020 | 1,464,569 | $ | 136.80 | 1,462,251 | $ | 1,161 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 1,468,417 | $ | 136.78 | 1,462,251 | $ | 1,161 |
The Company’s Board of Directors has approved common share repurchase authorizations under which repurchases may be made from time to time in the open market, pursuant to pre-set trading plans meeting the requirements of Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, in private transactions or otherwise. The authorizations do not have a stated expiration date. The most recent authorization was approved by the Board of Directors in April 2017 and added $5.0 billion of repurchase capacity to the $709 million capacity remaining at that date. The timing and actual number of shares to be repurchased in the future will depend on a variety of factors, including the Company’s financial position, earnings, share price, catastrophe losses, maintaining capital levels commensurate with the Company’s desired ratings from independent rating agencies, changes in levels of written premiums, funding of the Company’s qualified pension plan, capital requirements of the Company’s operating subsidiaries, legal requirements, regulatory constraints, other investment opportunities (including mergers and acquisitions and related financings), market conditions and other factors.
The Company acquired 6,166 shares for a total of approximately $0.8 million during the three months ended December 31, 2020 that were not part of the publicly announced share repurchase authorization. These shares consisted of shares retained to cover payroll withholding taxes in connection with the vesting of restricted stock unit awards and performance share awards, and shares used by employees to cover the price of certain stock options that were exercised.
For additional information regarding the Company's share repurchases, see "Item 7—Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources."
Information relating to compensation plans under which the Company's equity securities are authorized for issuance is set forth in "Part III—Item 12" of this Report.
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