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

Key Points

• Analysts have given The Travelers Companies a consensus rating of Hold from 21 firms (3 sell, 10 hold, 6 buy, 2 strong buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $309.13.
• The company beat quarterly expectations—EPS $7.71 vs. $6.80 and revenue $11.92B vs. $11.11B—reporting a net margin of 15.54% and ROE of 24.06%.
• The board authorized a $5 billion share repurchase (up to 8.3% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $1.25 ($5.00 annualized, ~1.7% yield).

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $309.1333.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on TRV. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $340.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $312.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE:TRV opened at $302.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Travelers Companies has a 1-year low of $249.19 and a 1-year high of $313.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $300.14 and a 200 day moving average of $288.76. The firm has a market cap of $64.38 billion, a PE ratio of 9.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.51.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.91. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 24.06%. The business had revenue of $11.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Travelers Companies will post 27.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This is a positive change from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Travelers Companies's payout ratio is currently 13.09%.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.77, for a total transaction of $3,037,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,125 shares in the company, valued at $13,707,621.25. The trade was a 18.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.75, for a total transaction of $3,127,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 117,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,366,997. The trade was a 8.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,414 shares of company stock worth $28,428,461. 1.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $723,339,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,000,457 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,641,093,000 after acquiring an additional 486,861 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 102.0% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 908,559 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $263,537,000 after acquiring an additional 458,746 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the third quarter valued at about $112,051,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1,641.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 379,480 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $105,537,000 after purchasing an additional 357,687 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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