The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) Announces $1.05 Quarterly Dividend

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 22nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of 1.05 per share by the insurance provider on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th.

Travelers Companies has increased its dividend by an average of 5.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 20 consecutive years. Travelers Companies has a dividend payout ratio of 17.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Travelers Companies to earn $23.09 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.2%.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TRV stock opened at $258.09 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $244.45. Travelers Companies has a one year low of $200.21 and a one year high of $269.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $9.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.50 by $2.65. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 19.06% and a net margin of 10.77%. The business had revenue of $12.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Travelers Companies will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $213.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Travelers Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $286.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Travelers Companies from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $278.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $261.05.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Travelers Companies

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Travelers Companies stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting 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.