The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Travelers “Hold” overall: Of 25 analysts, 12 recommend holding, nine recommend buying, and five recommend selling. The average 12-month price target is $354.53.
• Travelers reported quarterly EPS of $10.04, significantly above the $5.41 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $12.15 billion versus expectations of $11.26 billion.
• Shares opened at $361.99 after declining 2.5%; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, equivalent to a 1.4% annual yield. Insiders sold $21.8 million of stock during the latest quarter.

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twenty-five ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have assigned a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and four have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $354.5263.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TRV. Raymond James Financial set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Monday, July 20th. HSBC increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $321.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Travelers Companies from $343.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Seaport Research Partners set a $322.00 price target on Travelers Companies in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Travelers Companies from $283.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Michael Klein sold 6,000 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.09, for a total transaction of $2,196,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,519,811.25. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 4,164 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.71, for a total transaction of $1,610,260.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,048,789.58. This trade represents a 44.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 58,667 shares of company stock valued at $21,830,989 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Travelers Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TRV. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the second quarter valued at about $6,915,909,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the second quarter worth about $932,142,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $723,339,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the second quarter valued at about $789,024,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the second quarter valued at about $558,164,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:TRV opened at $361.99 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $371.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $329.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Travelers Companies has a 12-month low of $252.26 and a 12-month high of $398.70. The firm has a market cap of $75.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.69, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $10.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.41 by $4.63. The company had revenue of $12.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.26 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 16.95% and a return on equity of 25.41%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.51 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Travelers Companies will post 33.82 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is 13.39%.

Travelers Companies Company Profile

The Travelers Companies, Inc NYSE: TRV is a leading provider of property and casualty insurance products and services. The company serves individuals, businesses and public-sector organizations through a range of insurance offerings designed to help customers manage risks related to property, liability, transportation and other exposures.

Travelers' principal businesses include Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance. Its products and services include commercial property and casualty coverage, workers' compensation, general and professional liability insurance, surety and fidelity bonds, cyber insurance, homeowners insurance, automobile insurance and other personal lines products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.