The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-four research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $251.70.

TRV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price target 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. StockNews.com raised Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Travelers Companies from $233.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, HSBC raised Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TRV opened at $236.03 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $253.79 and its 200 day moving average is $231.02. The stock has a market cap of $53.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.63. Travelers Companies has a 1-year low of $182.59 and a 1-year high of $269.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $5.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.45. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.02% and a return on equity of 17.69%. The firm had revenue of $11.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Travelers Companies will post 18.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is 21.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Travelers Companies news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 40,524 shares of the firm’s 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 approximately $57,726,870.88. This trade represents a 15.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 3,740 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.80, for a total transaction of $990,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 250,384 shares in the company, valued at $66,301,683.20. This represents a 1.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 78,149 shares of company stock worth $20,295,856. Company insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Travelers Companies

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TRV. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,798,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in Travelers Companies by 34.6% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 18,144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,248,000 after buying an additional 4,665 shares during the last quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 14.3% in the second quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 12,189 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,479,000 after acquiring an additional 1,528 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 7.4% in the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 177,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,099,000 after acquiring an additional 12,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 5.4% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 264,320 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,747,000 after acquiring an additional 13,639 shares in the last quarter. 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.