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

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $245.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Janney Montgomery Scott cut Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $280.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Travelers Companies from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $217.00 price target (down from $256.00) on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Travelers Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $251.70.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of TRV traded up $3.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $240.76. 2,339,257 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,319,362. The company has a market capitalization of $54.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Travelers Companies has a 52 week low of $182.76 and a 52 week high of $269.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $253.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.27.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $5.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $11.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.95 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Travelers Companies will post 18.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 3,740 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.80, for a total transaction of $990,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 250,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,301,683.20. This trade represents a 1.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,410 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.80, for a total value of $2,725,338.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 111,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,102,211.60. This represents a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,295,856. 1.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,566,941 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,644,532,000 after buying an additional 120,228 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Travelers Companies by 12.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,048,691 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,289,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,909 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 2.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,076,220 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,187,865,000 after purchasing an additional 114,714 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 5.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,044,839 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $619,241,000 after purchasing an additional 165,708 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,334,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $474,774,000 after purchasing an additional 37,029 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

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.