ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Holdings in Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 180,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,701 shares during the period. Chubb accounts for 2.1% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Chubb were worth $49,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in Chubb by 56.5% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Chubb in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Chubb during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Chubb during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Chubb in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

Chubb Price Performance

CB stock opened at $269.38 on Tuesday. Chubb Limited has a 52-week low of $226.74 and a 52-week high of $302.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $277.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $278.49. The stock has a market cap of $108.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Chubb (NYSE:CB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.98 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $13.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.16 billion. Chubb had a net margin of 18.32% and a return on equity of 15.46%. Chubb’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.95 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Chubb Limited will post 21.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Chubb Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Chubb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on CB shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Chubb from $349.00 to $324.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Chubb from $289.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Chubb from $294.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Chubb from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Chubb from $268.00 to $264.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $288.17.

About Chubb

Chubb Limited provides insurance and reinsurance products worldwide. The company's North America Commercial P&C Insurance segment offers commercial property, casualty, workers' compensation, package policies, risk management, financial lines, marine, construction, environmental, medical risk, cyber risk, surety, and casualty; and group accident and health insurance to large, middle market, and small commercial businesses.