KBC Group NV Sells 15,255 Shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

KBC Group NV trimmed its holdings in Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 24.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,530 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 15,255 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Loews were worth $4,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Loews in the fourth quarter worth about $315,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Loews by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,611,751 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $127,409,000 after acquiring an additional 8,615 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Loews by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 137,566 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,875,000 after acquiring an additional 10,213 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Loews by 47.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 37,319 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,950,000 after purchasing an additional 12,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in Loews by 8.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 379,647 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,011,000 after purchasing an additional 30,600 shares during the last quarter. 58.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles M. Diker sold 1,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.83, for a total transaction of $99,507.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,728,437.98. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.16, for a total transaction of $6,237,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,089,677 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,377,539.32. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,679 shares of company stock valued at $11,134,916 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 18.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Loews Price Performance

NYSE:L opened at $86.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.77 billion, a price-to-earnings 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.44. Loews Co. has a 1 year low of $71.45 and a 1 year high of $87.45.

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

Loews Announces Dividend

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