Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Price Target Raised to $319.00

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) had its price objective lifted by Cantor Fitzgerald from $316.00 to $319.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $309.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $307.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus raised Travelers Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.00.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Travelers Companies stock opened at $294.95 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $65.79 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.51. Travelers Companies has a 52 week low of $230.43 and a 52 week high of $296.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $284.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $277.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.34 by $2.79. The company had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.13 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 12.88%.Travelers Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Travelers Companies will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 15.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 8,920 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.73, for a total value of $2,637,911.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 117,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,776,665.08. This trade represents a 7.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,803 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.55, for a total transaction of $522,058.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 255,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,860,151.30. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 29,435 shares of company stock worth $8,410,486 over the last ninety days. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Travelers Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TRV. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Travelers Companies by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter worth $276,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 36.2% in the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC grew its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 5.0% in the second quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN raised its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 5,536 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Company Profile

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.