The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Receives $306.79 Average Price Target from Brokerages

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $306.7857.

TRV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Travelers Companies to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Travelers Companies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Evercore raised their price objective on Travelers Companies from $309.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, 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.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TRV opened at $294.61 on Wednesday. Travelers Companies has a fifty-two week low of $230.47 and a fifty-two week high of $313.12. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $297.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $286.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $63.71 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.51.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 12.88%.The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.15 EPS. Travelers Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Travelers Companies will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.98%.

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

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In other news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,400 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.75, for a total value of $3,127,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 117,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,366,997. This trade represents a 8.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.18, for a total value of $3,011,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,131,092.84. The trade was a 22.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 92,845 shares of company stock worth $27,239,631 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

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.