Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on TRV. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $312.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $320.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, October 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.80.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE TRV opened at $281.90 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $62.88 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Travelers Companies has a 12-month low of $230.43 and a 12-month high of $296.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $284.95 and a 200 day moving average of $276.34.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.34 by $2.79. The business had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.13 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Travelers Companies will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.98%.

Travelers Companies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In related news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 1,803 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.55, for a total transaction of $522,058.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 255,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,860,151.30. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Olivo sold 8,920 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.73, for a total transaction of $2,637,911.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 117,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,776,665.08. This trade represents a 7.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 54,435 shares of company stock valued at $15,366,736 over the last three months. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Travelers Companies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,047,005 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,898,456,000 after purchasing an additional 313,449 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,746,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,162,917,000 after buying an additional 119,481 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,541,819 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,481,805,000 after acquiring an additional 54,363 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 71,265.9% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,616,826 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $967,646,000 after acquiring an additional 3,611,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Travelers Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $815,013,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.