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

TRV has been the topic of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $220.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Travelers Companies from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Travelers Companies from $253.00 to $250.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $223.47.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of TRV stock traded up $2.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $215.91. 668,542 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,472,621. The business’s fifty day moving average is $220.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $200.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.60. Travelers Companies has a 12-month low of $157.33 and a 12-month high of $232.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The insurance provider reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.75 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.62 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 13.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.11 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Travelers Companies will post 17.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This is a boost from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,798 shares in the company, valued at $4,877,860.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.55, for a total value of $8,076,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,147,865.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.96, for a total value of $2,139,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,877,860.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,635 shares of company stock worth $12,057,727 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the first quarter worth $42,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the first quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 100.0% in the third quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 200 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Travelers Companies Company Profile

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.