The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) to Issue Dividend Increase – $1.05 Per Share

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 17th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a dividend of 1.05 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. This is a boost from Travelers Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00.

Travelers Companies has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 19 years. Travelers Companies has a payout ratio of 19.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Travelers Companies to earn $20.18 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.8%.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:TRV opened at $206.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $47.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Travelers Companies has a 1-year low of $157.33 and a 1-year high of $232.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $221.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.17.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The insurance provider reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.62 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.11 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Travelers Companies will post 17.64 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Travelers Companies from $230.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Travelers Companies from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $217.00.

Insider Activity at Travelers Companies

In other Travelers Companies news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.55, for a total transaction of $8,076,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,147,865.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP David Donnay Rowland sold 10,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.00, for a total transaction of $2,178,734.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,683,110. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 38,000 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.55, for a total transaction of $8,076,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,147,865.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,775 shares of company stock valued at $23,343,903. 1.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $455,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $332,000. Childress Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $228,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Travelers Companies by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.