StockNews.com Lowers Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $261.00 to $252.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $253.00 to $250.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $223.47.

Travelers Companies Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:TRV opened at $212.18 on Friday. Travelers Companies has a one year low of $157.33 and a one year high of $232.75. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $48.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.58.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The insurance provider reported $4.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.75 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $11.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.62 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 13.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Travelers Companies will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. This is an increase from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is 29.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.06, for a total value of $967,770.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 255,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,878,580.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.06, for a total transaction of $967,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 255,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,878,580.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.55, for a total transaction of $8,076,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,810 shares in the company, valued at $3,147,865.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 67,681 shares of company stock worth $14,427,504 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Travelers Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TRV. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.3% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 84,333 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 25.9% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 4,009 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $655,000 after acquiring an additional 825 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 1,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Financial LLC acquired a new position in Travelers Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Travelers Companies Company 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.