StockNews.com Downgrades Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on TRV. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $233.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $280.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Travelers Companies from $207.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Travelers Companies from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $251.15.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

NYSE:TRV opened at $266.04 on Wednesday. Travelers Companies has a 52-week low of $177.61 and a 52-week high of $269.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $249.31 and a 200 day moving average of $227.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.62.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $5.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.45. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 10.02%. The firm had revenue of $11.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Travelers Companies will post 18.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In other news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.55, for a total transaction of $781,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 250,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,237,551.20. The trade was a 1.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Andy F. Bessette sold 4,520 shares of Travelers Companies 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,302,736.96. The trade was a 21.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 78,149 shares of company stock worth $20,295,856 over the last 90 days. 1.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Travelers Companies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 135,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,646,000 after acquiring an additional 38,515 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,174,000. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the third quarter worth $16,344,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $501,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Company Profile

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.