Loews Co. (NYSE:L) Shares Purchased by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 162,256 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,874 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.07% of Loews worth $13,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Loews during the 4th quarter valued at about $315,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Loews by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 15,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Loews by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,287,833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $109,067,000 after buying an additional 77,386 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Loews during the 4th quarter worth approximately $425,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 7,149 shares during the period. 58.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Loews

In other Loews news, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 7,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.08, for a total value of $4,254,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,105,529 shares in the company, valued at $604,538,407.32. This represents a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 158,860 shares of company stock worth $13,486,463. 18.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Loews Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE L opened at $91.54 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $85.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.30. Loews Co. has a 12 month low of $72.91 and a 12 month high of $91.75.

Loews (NYSE:L) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. Loews’s payout ratio is presently 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.