Brokerages Set The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Price Target at $309.13

Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $309.1333.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Travelers Companies from $312.00 to $331.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Travelers Companies to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Mizuho decreased their target price 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, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $304.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:TRV opened at $305.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $64.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $300.75 and its 200-day moving average is $289.49. Travelers Companies has a 1 year low of $249.19 and a 1 year high of $313.12.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $11.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Travelers Companies will post 28.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 repurchase up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,557 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.64, for a total value of $483,666.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 259,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,639,037.60. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.77, for a total value of $3,037,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,707,621.25. The trade was a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 103,706 shares of company stock worth $30,991,761 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Travelers Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Conning Inc. increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 119,763 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,932,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC bought a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 3,566 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,475 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,472,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 4,354 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Travelers Companies

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.