Swedbank AB Purchases 4,699 Shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Swedbank AB boosted its position in Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 384,346 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,699 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned 0.18% of Loews worth $32,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in L. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Loews by 4.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,425 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after buying an additional 829 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Loews during the 2nd quarter valued at about $875,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Loews during the 2nd quarter valued at about $187,000. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Loews by 7.3% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 37,115 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Loews by 13.2% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 59,077 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,670,000 after purchasing an additional 6,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles M. Diker sold 1,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.83, for a total value of $99,507.18. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,728,437.98. This trade represents a 5.44 % 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 Andrew H. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.26, for a total value of $4,163,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,939,677 shares in the company, valued at $994,097,507.02. This trade represents a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 133,679 shares of company stock worth $11,134,916. 18.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Loews from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th.

Loews Stock Performance

Shares of L opened at $86.20 on Friday. Loews Co. has a 1 year low of $71.45 and a 1 year high of $87.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $84.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.44. The firm has a market cap of $18.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

Loews (NYSE:L) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter. Loews had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter.

Loews Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. Loews’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.32%.

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.