Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Increases Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Price Target to $340.00

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $320.00 to $340.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 13.97% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Travelers Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.33.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Travelers Companies stock opened at $298.34 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Travelers Companies has a twelve month low of $230.43 and a twelve month high of $304.40. The company has a market cap of $64.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day moving average is $287.01 and its 200 day moving average is $279.95.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.34 by $2.79. The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.13 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 12.88%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.15 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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 buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.77, for a total transaction of $4,675,516.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,699,602.75. This trade represents a 73.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.75, for a total transaction of $3,127,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 117,596 shares in the company, valued at $35,366,997. This trade represents a 8.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 101,765 shares of company stock valued at $29,877,543 in the last 90 days. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 13.4% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $276,000. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in Travelers Companies by 18.7% in the second quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 921 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in Travelers Companies by 37.5% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parcion Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the second quarter valued at $246,000. Institutional investors 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.