Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Lowered to “Neutral” Rating by Janney Montgomery Scott

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) was downgraded by equities researchers at Janney Montgomery Scott from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $280.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock. Janney Montgomery Scott’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.90% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Travelers Companies from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $200.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Travelers Companies from $241.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Travelers Companies from $233.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $251.15.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Travelers Companies stock opened at $257.12 on Thursday. Travelers Companies has a 52-week low of $172.38 and a 52-week high of $269.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $245.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.62.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $5.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $1.45. The firm had revenue of $11.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.46 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 10.02%. The business’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.95 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Travelers Companies will post 18.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 40,524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.12, for a total value of $10,541,102.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 221,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,726,870.88. The trade was a 15.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 3,000 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $65,237,551.20. The trade was a 1.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 74,409 shares of company stock worth $19,305,504. Corporate insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Travelers Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 356.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 45,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,481,000 after purchasing an additional 35,560 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 162.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,926 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $17,303,000. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 75.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 10,996 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,531,000 after purchasing an additional 4,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies during the first quarter valued at about $26,618,000. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.