Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Upgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to Buy Rating

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) from a sell rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $278.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock.

TRV has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $245.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. HSBC raised shares of Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays cut their price target on Travelers Companies from $295.00 to $278.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Travelers Companies from $280.00 to $259.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.10.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:TRV opened at $242.89 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Travelers Companies has a twelve month low of $189.87 and a twelve month high of $269.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $251.06 and a 200-day moving average of $234.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.65.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $5.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.45. The firm had revenue of $11.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.46 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.02% and a return on equity of 17.69%. The business’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Travelers Companies will post 18.84 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,014 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $523,640.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 250,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,099,840. This trade represents a 0.80 % 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, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.17, for a total transaction of $2,561,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,840,163.66. This represents a 30.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 78,149 shares of company stock worth $20,295,856. Corporate insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Travelers Companies

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in Travelers Companies by 39.1% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 160 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Travelers Companies by 581.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 252 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. 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.