The Goldman Sachs Group Downgrades Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) to Sell

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs downgraded Travelers Companies from “neutral” to “sell” and set a $350 price target, implying about 5.3% downside from the prior close.
• Despite the downgrade, Travelers reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.04 versus the $5.41 estimate and revenue of $12.15 billion, both beating expectations.
• The stock has been trading near its highs, opening at $369.50 with a 52-week high of $370.43, while analysts overall still rate it a Hold on average with a consensus target of $335.74.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday. They currently have a $350.00 price target on the insurance provider's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target suggests a potential downside of 5.28% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on TRV. Citigroup reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Monday. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $304.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Travelers Companies from $283.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $335.74.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE TRV opened at $369.50 on Monday. Travelers Companies has a 52 week low of $252.26 and a 52 week high of $370.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $78.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $314.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $301.57.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $10.04 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 25.41% and a net margin of 16.95%.The firm's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Travelers Companies will post 28.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Travelers Companies news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,557 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.64, for a total value of $483,666.48. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 259,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,639,037.60. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Avrohom J. Kess sold 6,735 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.78, for a total transaction of $2,079,633.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 48,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,049,010.86. The trade was a 12.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,292 shares of company stock worth $5,639,800. 1.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TRV. Diversified Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.8% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 4,521 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC boosted its stake in Travelers Companies by 4.5% during the second quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 2,675 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $883,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Travelers Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $414,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 20,474 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,759,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

Travelers Companies Company Profile

The Travelers Companies, Inc NYSE: TRV is a leading provider of property and casualty insurance products and services. The company underwrites a broad range of commercial and personal insurance lines, offering coverage designed to protect individuals, small and midsize businesses, and large corporate clients against property loss, liability, and other operational risks. Travelers is known for combining underwriting, claims management and risk control services to help clients prevent losses and recover when incidents occur.

On the commercial side, Travelers writes primary and specialty coverages including property, general liability, commercial auto, workers' compensation, professional and management liability, surety and inland marine.

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