The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $304.3333.

TRV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $307.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $312.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TRV opened at $299.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.71 billion, a PE ratio of 10.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.49. Travelers Companies has a 1-year low of $230.43 and a 1-year high of $313.12. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $291.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $283.92.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.13 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Travelers Companies will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

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

Travelers Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,131,092.84. The trade was a 22.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 92,845 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,631 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Travelers Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Travelers Companies by 134.1% during the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.