Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Stock Rating Upgraded by Argus

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) was upgraded by Argus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Mizuho decreased their price target on Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $304.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $317.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $301.20.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TRV opened at $281.70 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.23, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.33. Travelers Companies has a 1 year low of $230.43 and a 1 year high of $296.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $285.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.11.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.34 by $2.79. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 12.88%.The company had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Travelers Companies will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 21st that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 8,920 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.73, for a total transaction of $2,637,911.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 117,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,776,665.08. The trade was a 7.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.25, for a total value of $6,956,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 26,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,493,829. This represents a 48.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,435 shares of company stock worth $15,366,736. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Travelers Companies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avalon Trust Co grew its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 7,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,018,000 after buying an additional 1,429 shares during the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 32.3% during the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 26,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,323,000 after purchasing an additional 6,408 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 135,143 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,735,000 after purchasing an additional 13,758 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 1,641.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 379,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $105,537,000 after purchasing an additional 357,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 45,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 8,090 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

About Travelers Companies

The Travelers Companies, Inc (NYSE: TRV) is a leading provider of property and casualty insurance products and services. The company underwrites a broad range of commercial and personal insurance lines, offering coverage designed to protect individuals, small and midsize businesses, and large corporate clients against property loss, liability, and other operational risks. Travelers is known for combining underwriting, claims management and risk control services to help clients prevent losses and recover when incidents occur.

On the commercial side, Travelers writes primary and specialty coverages including property, general liability, commercial auto, workers’ compensation, professional and management liability, surety and inland marine.