Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

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

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Hsbc Global Res raised Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. HSBC raised shares of Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $241.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $251.70.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:TRV opened at $240.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $54.66 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $253.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Travelers Companies has a 12-month low of $182.76 and a 12-month high of $269.55.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $5.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.45. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 10.02%. The firm had revenue of $11.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Travelers Companies will post 18.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 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 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.54%.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In other Travelers Companies news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 40,524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.12, for a total transaction of $10,541,102.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 221,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,726,870.88. The trade was a 15.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Andy F. Bessette sold 4,520 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.46, for a total value of $1,145,639.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,302,736.96. This trade represents a 21.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 78,149 shares of company stock worth $20,295,856 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Travelers Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TRV. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in Travelers Companies by 39.1% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 160 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Travelers Companies during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 276 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Travelers Companies

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.