Loews Co. (NYSE:L) Shares Sold by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lowered its stake in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 46,471 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 776 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Loews were worth $3,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of L. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its position in Loews by 118.3% during the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 12,388 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after buying an additional 6,714 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Loews by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 714,833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $60,535,000 after acquiring an additional 15,888 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its stake in shares of Loews by 60.8% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 113,873 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,644,000 after purchasing an additional 43,075 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Loews by 116.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 13,701 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 7,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Loews by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 47,809 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,049,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

Loews Stock Performance

L opened at $85.30 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.46. Loews Co. has a 52-week low of $73.15 and a 52-week high of $92.42. The company has a market cap of $17.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Loews Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Loews’s payout ratio is 3.91%.

Insider Activity at Loews

In other 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 3,691 shares of the 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. In 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.