Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Given New $269.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $245.00 to $269.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on TRV. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $268.00 target price (down from $273.00) on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $274.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $270.00 to $267.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Travelers Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $270.42.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 0.3%

TRV opened at $274.47 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Travelers Companies has a fifty-two week low of $200.21 and a fifty-two week high of $275.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $259.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $252.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $1.38. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.77% and a return on equity of 19.06%. The company had revenue of $10.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Travelers Companies will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This is an increase from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Travelers Companies’s payout ratio is 23.95%.

Institutional Trading of Travelers Companies

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Travelers Companies by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,733,556 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,747,656,000 after purchasing an additional 115,808 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,277,851 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,439,392,000 after acquiring an additional 229,160 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Travelers Companies by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,258,490 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,269,321,000 after acquiring an additional 182,270 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,752,484 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $903,937,000 after purchasing an additional 70,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Travelers Companies by 236.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,507,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $844,854,000 after purchasing an additional 2,466,098 shares during the period. 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.