Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Price Target Raised to $315.00

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) had its price target raised by Citigroup from $291.00 to $315.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sell rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $304.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $309.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.80.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 0.8%

TRV stock opened at $284.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $284.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $276.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Travelers Companies has a 52 week low of $230.43 and a 52 week high of $296.85.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.34 by $2.79. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.15 EPS. Travelers Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Travelers Companies will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.77, for a total transaction of $4,675,516.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,699,602.75. This represents a 73.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.25, for a total transaction of $6,956,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 26,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,493,829. This trade represents a 48.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,435 shares of company stock valued at $15,366,736. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Travelers Companies

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avalon Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 7,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,018,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 32.3% in the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 26,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,323,000 after purchasing an additional 6,408 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 11.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 135,143 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,735,000 after buying an additional 13,758 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Travelers Companies by 1,641.3% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 379,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $105,537,000 after buying an additional 357,687 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Travelers Companies by 147.5% during the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,830 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,050,000 after buying an additional 17,181 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.