Barclays PLC Trims Position in Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Barclays PLC lowered its stake in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 24.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 572,170 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 180,210 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.26% of Loews worth $48,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in L. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in Loews in the 4th quarter valued at $671,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Loews by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 10,614 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $899,000 after acquiring an additional 3,708 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Loews by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,395 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Loews by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 78,744 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,669,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. lifted its position in Loews by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 37,099 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,142,000 after purchasing an additional 13,216 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Loews Price Performance

Shares of NYSE L opened at $85.27 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $85.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.60. Loews Co. has a one year low of $73.15 and a one year high of $92.42.

Loews (NYSE:L) last released 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Loews’s payout ratio is currently 3.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.08, for a total transaction of $4,254,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,105,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $604,538,407.32. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 3,691 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.89, for a total value of $320,710.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 151,327 shares of company stock valued at $12,851,055. 18.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.