Baird Financial Group Inc. Acquires 276 Shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,023 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Loews were worth $510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Loews during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of Loews by 387.6% during the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Loews during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Loews during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Loews during the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. 58.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Loews from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Loews Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE L opened at $88.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $86.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.15. Loews Co. has a 52 week low of $73.15 and a 52 week high of $92.42. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $18.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 0.70.

Loews (NYSE:L) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter. Loews had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 8.08%. The firm had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter.

Loews Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. Loews’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.11%.

Insider Activity at Loews

In other Loews news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.08, for a total value of $4,254,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,105,529 shares in the company, valued at $604,538,407.32. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Richard Waldo Scott sold 9,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $792,950.48. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,901 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,575.92. This represents a 21.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,655 shares of company stock valued at $13,323,294. Insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

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.