Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $295.00 to $278.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $217.00 price objective (down from $256.00) on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Travelers Companies from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Travelers Companies from $280.00 to $259.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.85.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Travelers Companies stock opened at $232.53 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $52.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $250.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $234.77. Travelers Companies has a 1-year low of $191.88 and a 1-year high of $269.55.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $5.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.45. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 10.02%. The company had revenue of $11.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.95 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Travelers Companies will post 18.84 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.54%.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In related news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 3,740 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.80, for a total value of $990,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 250,384 shares in the company, valued at $66,301,683.20. This represents a 1.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andy F. Bessette sold 4,520 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.46, for a total transaction of $1,145,639.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,302,736.96. This represents a 21.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 78,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,295,856 over the last quarter. 1.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Travelers Companies

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,428 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 1,393 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 842 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,097 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $987,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Travelers Companies

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.