Loews Co. (NYSE:L) Stock Position Reduced by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its position in Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 97,094 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 7,855 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Loews were worth $8,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in L. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Loews during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Loews during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Loews in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Loews during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Loews during the 4th quarter worth $68,000. 58.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Loews Stock Down 8.7 %

L opened at $83.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $86.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $17.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 0.80. Loews Co. has a 12 month low of $72.91 and a 12 month high of $92.42.

Loews (NYSE:L) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Loews had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 8.04%.

Loews Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Loews’s payout ratio is 3.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 3,691 shares of Loews stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.89, for a total transaction of $320,710.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.66, for a total value of $4,233,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,755,529 shares in the company, valued at $571,923,085.14. The trade was a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,327 shares of company stock valued at $12,851,055. 18.70% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.