Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $302.38 and last traded at $301.3710, with a volume of 220680 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $295.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on TRV shares. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $316.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $320.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Travelers Companies to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $317.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Travelers Companies from $302.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.00.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $66.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $284.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $277.40.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $11.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.15 EPS. Travelers Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.98%.

Travelers Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In other news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,699,602.75. The trade was a 73.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,000 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.50, for a total value of $575,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 255,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,337,225. This trade represents a 0.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,435 shares of company stock valued at $8,410,486. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Travelers Companies

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 102.0% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 908,559 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $263,537,000 after purchasing an additional 458,746 shares during the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $24,167,000. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 21,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,157,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 431.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 50,155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,548,000 after purchasing an additional 40,709 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.