Loews Co. (NYSE:L) Stake Boosted by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,432 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Loews were worth $375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Loews by 345.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 296,538 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,114,000 after purchasing an additional 229,965 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in Loews by 92.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 477,484 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,745,000 after acquiring an additional 229,956 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in Loews by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,012,829 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $84,602,000 after acquiring an additional 89,902 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Loews by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 752,380 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,473,000 after acquiring an additional 87,259 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Loews by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,077,241 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $638,506,000 after purchasing an additional 82,581 shares in the last quarter. 58.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Loews Price Performance

NYSE L opened at $86.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 0.80. 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 12 month low of $72.91 and a 12 month high of $88.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.95.

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

Loews Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Loews

In other Loews news, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 7,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.35, for a total value of $635,408.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,568,191 shares in the company, valued at $132,276,910.85. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 3,691 shares of Loews stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.89, for a total transaction of $320,710.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 158,860 shares of company stock valued at $13,486,463 in the last quarter. Insiders own 18.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.