Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $233.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $207.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott cut Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $280.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Travelers Companies from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.65.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of TRV opened at $247.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Travelers Companies has a 1-year low of $180.44 and a 1-year high of $269.55. The stock has a market cap of $56.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $252.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $229.59.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $5.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.45. The business had revenue of $11.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.46 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 10.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Travelers Companies will post 18.83 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is currently 21.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 40,524 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.12, for a total transaction of $10,541,102.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 221,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,726,870.88. The trade was a 15.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 3,941 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.45, for a total transaction of $1,026,433.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,671.75. The trade was a 69.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,295,856. 1.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Travelers Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TRV. Ledyard National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.9% in the third quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 2,067 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Travelers Companies by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,807 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Willner & Heller LLC boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 1,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 39.1% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 160 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

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.