Analysts Set The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Price Target at $306.79

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $306.7857.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on TRV shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $307.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Travelers Companies from $302.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $312.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Monday, February 2nd.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In other Travelers Companies news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 55,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.70, for a total transaction of $16,424,515.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 260,329 shares in the company, valued at $76,718,956.30. This trade represents a 17.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.18, for a total value of $3,011,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,131,092.84. This trade represents a 22.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 92,845 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,631 over the last ninety days. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Travelers Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $789,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $276,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 26,037 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,966,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its position in Travelers Companies by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 1,449 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 104,633 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,994,000 after purchasing an additional 4,525 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Travelers Companies stock opened at $293.98 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $297.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $286.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Travelers Companies has a 12-month low of $230.43 and a 12-month high of $313.12. The company has a market cap of $63.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Travelers Companies announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.98%.

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.