Howard Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 72 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its position in Travelers Companies by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $843,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new position in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,705,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 145,177 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,972,000 after buying an additional 2,068 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,012,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $868,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TRV. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $213.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. HSBC upgraded Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Travelers Companies from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $278.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott cut Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $280.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Travelers Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $261.05.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 3.4 %

NYSE TRV opened at $248.29 on Tuesday. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $200.21 and a 52 week high of $269.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $242.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $242.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.64.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $9.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.50 by $2.65. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.77% and a return on equity of 19.06%. The firm had revenue of $12.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is currently 19.56%.

Travelers Companies 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.