Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Given New $342.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) had its price objective boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $340.00 to $342.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on TRV. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Argus upgraded shares of Travelers Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Brean Capital began coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $316.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $309.13.

Travelers Companies Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:TRV opened at $300.78 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $299.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Travelers Companies has a one year low of $247.81 and a one year high of $313.12. The company has a market cap of $63.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.51.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $7.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.91. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 24.06%. The business had revenue of $11.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Travelers Companies will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This is an increase from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.09%.

Travelers Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.18, for a total value of $3,011,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,131,092.84. The trade was a 22.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 55,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.70, for a total transaction of $16,424,515.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 260,329 shares in the company, valued at $76,718,956.30. This trade represents a 17.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 92,845 shares of company stock worth $27,239,631 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cim LLC lifted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 8,145 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,363,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 5,210 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,511,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 5,236 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,519,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,949 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, 111 Capital lifted its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. 111 Capital now owns 1,223 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

About Travelers Companies

The Travelers Companies, Inc (NYSE: TRV) is a leading provider of property and casualty insurance products and services. The company underwrites a broad range of commercial and personal insurance lines, offering coverage designed to protect individuals, small and midsize businesses, and large corporate clients against property loss, liability, and other operational risks. Travelers is known for combining underwriting, claims management and risk control services to help clients prevent losses and recover when incidents occur.

On the commercial side, Travelers writes primary and specialty coverages including property, general liability, commercial auto, workers’ compensation, professional and management liability, surety and inland marine.