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

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is mixed on Travelers Companies, with 21 brokerages averaging a “Hold” rating. The consensus 12-month price target is about $309.13.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $7.71 versus $6.80 expected and revenue of $11.92 billion versus $11.11 billion forecast. Despite the beat, revenue was down 1.7% from a year earlier.
• Travelers raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share and has a $5 billion share repurchase program in place. Insiders also sold shares recently, while institutional investors continue to own most of the stock.

Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $309.1333.

TRV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Argus upgraded Travelers Companies to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Travelers Companies from $297.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Friday, April 17th.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

TRV stock opened at $307.02 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $299.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.50. The stock has a market cap of $65.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.50. Travelers Companies has a fifty-two week low of $249.19 and a fifty-two week high of $313.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $11.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.11 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 24.06% and a net margin of 15.54%.The firm's revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Travelers Companies will post 28.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from Travelers Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.09%.

Travelers Companies declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 2,867 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.45, for a total transaction of $869,991.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,607,678.10. The trade was a 35.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.77, for a total value of $3,037,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,707,621.25. This trade represents a 18.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 27,573 shares of company stock valued at $8,427,646 over the last 90 days. 1.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spinnaker Trust increased its position in Travelers Companies by 1.7% during the first quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,938 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Cim LLC increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 8,145 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,363,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.4% in the first quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 8,784 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,562,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 5,210 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,511,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 5,236 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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