Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,476,087 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 210,594 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Loews were worth $378,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Loews in the 4th quarter worth about $623,493,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Loews by 345.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 296,538 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,114,000 after purchasing an additional 229,965 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Loews by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,499,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $126,983,000 after purchasing an additional 217,115 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Loews during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,727,000. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Loews by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,012,829 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $84,602,000 after purchasing an additional 89,902 shares during the last quarter. 58.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of Loews stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.66, for a total value of $4,233,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,755,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $571,923,085.14. This trade represents a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 3,691 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.89, for a total value of $320,710.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 151,327 shares of company stock worth $12,851,055. 18.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Loews Price Performance

Loews stock opened at $83.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 0.80. Loews Co. has a 12-month low of $72.91 and a 12-month high of $92.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $86.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.77.

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

Loews Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. Loews’s payout ratio is currently 3.91%.

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.