Barclays Cuts Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Price Target to $278.00

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) had its price target decreased by Barclays from $295.00 to $278.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on TRV. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $244.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $217.00 target price (down from $256.00) on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC raised shares of Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $280.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.10.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of TRV stock opened at $242.89 on Monday. Travelers Companies has a 1-year low of $189.87 and a 1-year high of $269.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $251.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $55.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.65.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $5.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.45. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.02% and a return on equity of 17.69%. The business had revenue of $11.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.95 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Travelers Companies will post 18.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 21.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 40,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.12, for a total transaction of $10,541,102.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 221,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,726,870.88. This trade represents a 15.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,014 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $523,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 250,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,099,840. The trade was a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,295,856. Corporate insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Travelers Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRV. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Travelers Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 34.0% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 113,208 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,020,000 after purchasing an additional 28,735 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.3% in the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 34,915 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,100,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 11.7% in the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 25,904 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 5.3% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,576 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 230 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.