National Pension Service Sells 336,386 Shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

National Pension Service lessened its stake in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 91.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 33,296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 336,386 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Loews were worth $2,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Loews by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,611,751 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $127,409,000 after buying an additional 8,615 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Loews during the 4th quarter valued at about $315,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Loews by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 137,566 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,875,000 after buying an additional 10,213 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Loews by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 379,647 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,011,000 after buying an additional 30,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Loews by 47.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 37,319 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,950,000 after buying an additional 12,070 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

Loews Stock Performance

Loews stock opened at $86.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Loews Co. has a 1-year low of $72.91 and a 1-year high of $88.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50-day moving average is $84.60 and its 200 day moving average is $82.44.

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

Loews Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Loews’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.91%.

Insider Transactions at Loews

In other news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.08, for a total transaction of $4,254,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,105,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $604,538,407.32. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 7,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.35, for a total transaction of $635,408.55. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,568,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $132,276,910.85. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 62,370 shares of company stock valued at $5,309,627. 18.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Loews

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.