Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Sunday.

Several other research firms have also commented on TRV. HSBC lifted their price target on Travelers Companies from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Piper Sandler restated a neutral rating and issued a $213.00 target price on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Monday, April 1st. JMP Securities reissued a market perform rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Travelers Companies from $253.00 to $250.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $222.00 to $219.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Travelers Companies has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $223.47.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of Travelers Companies stock traded up $2.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $215.91. 668,542 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,472,621. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $49.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.60. Travelers Companies has a 52-week low of $157.33 and a 52-week high of $232.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $220.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $200.58.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The insurance provider reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.75 by ($0.06). The firm 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 in the prior year, the business earned $4.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Travelers Companies will post 17.71 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. This is a positive change from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 3,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.68, for a total value of $776,726.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,298,106. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.96, for a total value of $2,139,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,877,860.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 3,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.68, for a total value of $776,726.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,298,106. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,635 shares of company stock worth $12,057,727 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Travelers Companies

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth $282,593,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 15.8% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,575,759 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $747,267,000 after purchasing an additional 623,974 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 1,826.3% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 512,714 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $83,731,000 after purchasing an additional 486,098 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 19,918.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 475,830 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $90,641,000 after purchasing an additional 473,453 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,192,008 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $227,175,000 after buying an additional 355,489 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

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.