The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Receives $309.13 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $309.1333.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on TRV shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $340.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 27th.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE TRV opened at $304.99 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $300.75 and a 200-day moving average of $289.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. Travelers Companies has a 52 week low of $249.19 and a 52 week high of $313.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $11.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.11 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 24.06% and a net margin of 15.54%.The firm’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Travelers Companies will post 28.03 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This is a boost from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.09%.

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

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 6,414 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.06, for a total transaction of $1,956,654.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,853,239.50. The trade was a 51.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,557 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.64, for a total transaction of $483,666.48. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 259,590 shares in the company, valued at $80,639,037.60. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 103,706 shares of company stock worth $30,991,761. 1.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Travelers Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TRV. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 145.7% during the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 134.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1,820.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 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.