Loews Co. (NYSE:L) Stock Position Decreased by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank cut its position in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 527,061 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 31,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Loews were worth $44,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Loews by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 62,785 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,963,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Loews by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 64,856 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Loews by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Loews by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 68,620 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,424,000 after acquiring an additional 3,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Loews during the 3rd quarter valued at about $129,000. 58.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Loews Stock Performance

L opened at $86.56 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $84.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Loews Co. has a 12-month low of $72.91 and a 12-month high of $88.29.

Loews (NYSE:L) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Loews had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 8.08%.

Loews Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Loews’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Loews from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Loews news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 3,691 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.89, for a total value of $320,710.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 47,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.88, for a total value of $4,043,343.68. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,705,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $569,165,301.52. This trade represents a 0.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 158,860 shares of company stock worth $13,486,463. 18.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Loews Profile

Loews Corporation provides commercial property and casualty insurance in the United States and internationally. The company offers specialty insurance products, such as management and professional liability, and other coverage products; surety and fidelity bonds; property insurance products that include standard and excess property, marine and boiler, and machinery coverages; and casualty insurance products, such as workers' compensation, general and product liability, and commercial auto, surplus, and umbrella coverages.