Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Raised to “Buy” at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) from a sell rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $278.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock.

TRV has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Travelers Companies from $244.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and set a $217.00 price target (down previously from $256.00) on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Travelers Companies from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.10.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of TRV opened at $242.89 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $251.06 and a 200 day moving average of $234.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.65. Travelers Companies has a 1-year low of $189.87 and a 1-year high of $269.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

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

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is presently 21.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Travelers Companies news, EVP Andy F. Bessette sold 4,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.46, for a total value of $1,145,639.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,302,736.96. This trade represents a 21.03 % 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, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 40,524 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.12, for a total value of $10,541,102.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 221,924 shares in the company, valued at $57,726,870.88. The trade was a 15.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 78,149 shares of company stock worth $20,295,856 over the last ninety days. 1.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Travelers Companies

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 12.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,048,691 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,289,079,000 after buying an additional 1,568,909 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 23,378.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 520,291 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $121,811,000 after buying an additional 518,075 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 705,793 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $166,645,000 after purchasing an additional 282,884 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,988,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 216.3% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 339,901 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $79,582,000 after purchasing an additional 232,428 shares during the period. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Travelers Companies Company Profile

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.