Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Lifted 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 note published on Sunday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on TRV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Travelers Companies from $194.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. HSBC lifted their target price on Travelers Companies from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Travelers Companies from $253.00 to $250.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $241.00 to $231.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $223.47.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

TRV stock opened at $216.97 on Friday. Travelers Companies has a twelve month low of $157.33 and a twelve month high of $232.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $49.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s fifty day moving average is $220.64 and its 200-day moving average is $201.34.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The insurance provider reported $4.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.75 by ($0.06). Travelers Companies had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 13.94%. The business had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.11 earnings per share. Travelers Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Travelers Companies will post 17.71 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a $1.05 dividend. This is an increase from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is 29.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 3,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.68, for a total value of $776,726.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,298,106. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 3,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.68, for a total transaction of $776,726.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,298,106. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.96, for a total value of $2,139,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,877,860.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,635 shares of company stock worth $3,980,827 in the last three months. 1.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Travelers Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd lifted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 200 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.