The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Travelers, with 13 hold, five sell, four buy and three strong-buy ratings; the average 12-month price target is $357.26, below the stock’s reported $388.66 price.
• Travelers significantly exceeded third-quarter expectations, posting $9.18 in EPS versus $7.39 expected and $12.41 billion in revenue versus $11.36 billion projected, supported by investment income and improved underwriting results.
• Insiders sold approximately $21.8 million of shares over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 82.45% of the company; Travelers also declared a $1.25 quarterly dividend, equal to a 1.3% annualized yield.

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the twenty-five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $357.26.

TRV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $395.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Evercore set a $329.00 target price on Travelers Companies and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. HSBC raised their target price on Travelers Companies from $321.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Raymond James Financial set a $430.00 price target on Travelers Companies in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Travelers Companies from $348.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In other news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 6,000 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.86, for a total transaction of $2,219,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 118,742 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,917,916.12. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Rowland sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $371.69, for a total transaction of $1,858,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,894,939.51. This represents a 32.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 58,667 shares of company stock worth $21,830,989. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Travelers Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRV. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,915,909,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Travelers Companies in the 2nd quarter worth about $932,142,000. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Travelers Companies in the 2nd quarter worth about $789,024,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Travelers Companies in the 2nd quarter worth about $558,164,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $469,505,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRV opened at $388.66 on Friday. Travelers Companies has a twelve month low of $261.87 and a twelve month high of $398.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $81.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.43. The company's 50 day moving average is $368.98 and its 200 day moving average is $337.49.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 16th. The insurance provider reported $9.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.39 by $1.79. The company had revenue of $12.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.36 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 16.95% and a return on equity of 25.41%. The firm's revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Travelers Companies will post 34.25 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 10th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 10th. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Key Headlines Impacting Travelers Companies

Here are the key news stories impacting Travelers Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Travelers reported third-quarter core earnings of $9.18 per diluted share, well above the $7.39 analyst consensus, while revenue of $12.41 billion also exceeded expectations. Core income rose 4% year over year to $1.947 billion. Travelers Companies Stock Is Gaining Friday: What's Going On?
• Positive Sentiment: Record pre-tax net investment income of $1.098 billion, favorable prior-year reserve development and an improved consolidated combined ratio of 86.8% supported profitability. Travelers also repurchased $1.508 billion of stock and returned $1.769 billion to shareholders during the quarter. TRV Q3 Earnings Beat on Reserve Gains and Investment Income
• Positive Sentiment: Truist Securities raised its price target to $435 from $425 and maintained a Buy rating, signaling continued analyst confidence following the earnings beat. Truist Raises Price Target on Travelers
• Neutral Sentiment: Travelers increased its cyber quota-share cession at the October renewal, transferring more cyber exposure to reinsurers. This may reduce volatility but could also limit underwriting revenue and earnings upside. Travelers Increases Cyber Quota Share Cession
• Negative Sentiment: Catastrophe losses increased to approximately $538 million from $402 million a year earlier, raising concerns about claims inflation and the sustainability of Travelers’ underwriting gains. Analysts also cautioned that earnings could be peaking after the sizable beat. Travelers Stock Falls as Earnings Top Estimates

About Travelers Companies

Travelers Companies, Inc is a property and casualty insurance company that provides insurance products and related services to businesses, government entities and individuals. The company offers coverage for property damage, liability, workers' compensation, automobile accidents, cybersecurity risks and other exposures.

Travelers conducts its operations primarily through its Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance and Personal Insurance segments. Its products include commercial property and casualty policies, surety and fidelity bonds, homeowners insurance, personal automobile insurance and umbrella coverage.

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.