Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $291.36 and last traded at $290.3410, with a volume of 105147 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $287.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on TRV shares. Wall Street Zen cut Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, October 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $304.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “positive” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Friday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.73.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $64.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $276.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $270.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The insurance provider reported $8.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.01 by $2.13. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 12.14%.The business had revenue of $12.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.24 earnings per share. Travelers Companies’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 10th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Travelers Companies news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.25, for a total transaction of $6,956,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,493,829. This represents a 48.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.50, for a total transaction of $575,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 255,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,337,225. This represents a 0.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 37,375 shares of company stock worth $10,374,006. Insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Travelers Companies

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 71,265.9% during the 2nd 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 period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Travelers Companies during the second quarter worth $815,013,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the first quarter valued at $294,755,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 10.9% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,626,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,040,475,000 after purchasing an additional 751,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 41.2% in the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,679,275 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $444,101,000 after purchasing an additional 490,039 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.