UBS Group AG Boosts Stake in Loews Corporation $L

UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Loews Corporation (NYSE:L) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 811,194 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,327 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Loews were worth $85,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in shares of Loews by 3.9% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,618 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Loews by 6.9% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,606 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Loews by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 14,006 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Loews by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,609 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS raised its stake in shares of Loews by 0.4% in the third quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 31,749 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,187,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Loews in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Loews presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

Loews Stock Down 0.5%

Loews stock opened at $111.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. Loews Corporation has a one year low of $85.10 and a one year high of $114.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $109.11 and a 200 day moving average of $106.12.

Loews (NYSE:L) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The insurance provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter. Loews had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 9.03%.

Loews Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. Loews’s dividend payout ratio is 3.13%.

Insider Activity at Loews

In related news, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.81, for a total transaction of $5,440,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,480,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,357,992,324. This represents a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Marc A. Alpert sold 3,495 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.87, for a total value of $383,995.65. Following the sale, the vice president owned 16,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,627.75. This trade represents a 17.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 105,417 shares of company stock worth $11,549,723. 19.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Loews

Loews Corporation (NYSE: L) is a diversified holding company that owns and operates businesses across insurance, hospitality, energy-related operations and other industrial and investment activities. The company holds controlling and significant minority interests in subsidiaries that run as standalone businesses, with corporate oversight focused on capital allocation, risk management and long-term value creation for shareholders.

One of Loews’ principal businesses is insurance, conducted through CNA Financial, a commercial property and casualty insurer that underwrites a range of business insurance products for corporate and institutional clients.