St. James Investment Company LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

St. James Investment Company LLC decreased its holdings in Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 474,797 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 14,879 shares during the period. Loews accounts for about 6.9% of St. James Investment Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. St. James Investment Company LLC’s holdings in Loews were worth $40,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in Loews in the 4th quarter worth about $315,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Loews by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 15,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Loews by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,287,833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $109,067,000 after acquiring an additional 77,386 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Loews in the 4th quarter valued at $425,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Loews by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 248,665 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,657,000 after purchasing an additional 7,149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 7,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.35, for a total value of $635,408.55. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,568,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $132,276,910.85. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 47,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.88, for a total value of $4,043,343.68. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,705,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $569,165,301.52. The trade was a 0.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 158,860 shares of company stock worth $13,486,463 in the last ninety days. 18.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Loews Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of L opened at $90.66 on Monday. 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 $92.13. The company has a market capitalization of $19.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.44.

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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Loews’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.91%.

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.