Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. HSBC lowered Travelers Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $270.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $304.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Travelers Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Travelers Companies from $288.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $274.61.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 1.5%

TRV traded up $3.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $265.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,687,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,289,074. Travelers Companies has a 52-week low of $203.21 and a 52-week high of $277.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $265.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $256.35. The firm has a market cap of $60.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.75, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.51. 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 (NYSE:TRV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $6.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $2.99. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 18.68%. The firm had revenue of $11.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.51 earnings per share. Travelers Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Travelers Companies will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. Travelers Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 9,044 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.17, for a total transaction of $2,479,593.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,222,530.46. This represents a 21.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 20,286 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.48, for a total transaction of $5,547,815.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,932 shares in the company, valued at $7,365,363.36. This trade represents a 42.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 163,869 shares of company stock valued at $44,868,201 in the last 90 days. 1.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Travelers Companies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 700.0% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Travelers Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co increased its position in Travelers Companies by 122.2% during the 2nd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 100 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company's stock.

About Travelers Companies

The Travelers Companies, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance.