Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Several other research firms have also commented on TRV. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $280.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $241.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $251.15.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of TRV opened at $266.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.54 billion, a PE ratio of 13.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.62. 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 has a 1-year low of $175.88 and a 1-year high of $269.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $248.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.96.

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 company had revenue of $11.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Travelers Companies will post 18.83 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.55, for a total value of $781,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 250,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,237,551.20. This represents a 1.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Diane Kurtzman sold 3,941 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.45, for a total transaction of $1,026,433.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,671.75. This trade represents a 69.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 78,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,295,856 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Travelers Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TRV. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 74.2% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 39.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 160 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other 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.