KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Loews Co. (NYSE:L) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 150,276 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,727,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned 0.07% of Loews at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of L. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 229,965 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Loews by 92.9% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 477,484 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,745,000 after purchasing an additional 229,956 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in Loews by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,012,829 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $84,602,000 after purchasing an additional 89,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Loews by 13.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 752,380 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,473,000 after purchasing an additional 87,259 shares in the last quarter. 58.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Loews Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of L opened at $87.22 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.07. The company has a market capitalization of $18.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 0.80. 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 $88.66.

Loews (NYSE:L) last posted its quarterly 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 Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Loews’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 7,533 shares of Loews stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,568,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $132,276,910.85. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 47,636 shares of Loews stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.88, for a total transaction of $4,043,343.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,705,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $569,165,301.52. The trade was a 0.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 158,860 shares of company stock valued at $13,486,463. 18.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of 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.