California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 13,701 Shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 851,655 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 13,701 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.39% of Loews worth $72,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Allstate Corp bought a new position in Loews during the fourth quarter worth $785,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Loews by 183.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 15,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in shares of Loews by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 33,490 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,980 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Loews by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 21,695 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Loews by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 87,032 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,371,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. 58.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Loews Price Performance

Shares of NYSE L opened at $91.95 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $85.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Loews Co. has a 1-year low of $72.91 and a 1-year high of $92.35.

Loews (NYSE:L) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $0.86 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. Loews’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 3,691 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.89, for a total value of $320,710.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of Loews stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.08, for a total value 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. The trade was a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 158,860 shares of company stock worth $13,486,463. Insiders own 18.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Loews from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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.