BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 148,890 Shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 63.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 384,459 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 148,890 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Loews were worth $32,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Loews by 13.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 752,380 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,473,000 after buying an additional 87,259 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Loews in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Loews by 3.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 248,665 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,657,000 after acquiring an additional 7,149 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Loews by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 15,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Loews in the 4th quarter valued at about $227,000. 58.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Loews Price Performance

Shares of L stock opened at $87.94 on Friday. Loews Co. has a 12-month low of $73.15 and a 12-month high of $92.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $86.54 and a 200-day moving average of $84.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 0.70. 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 data on Monday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter. Loews had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 8.04%. The business had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter.

Loews Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Loews’s payout ratio is 3.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Loews from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Insider Activity at Loews

In other news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 47,636 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.88, for a total transaction of $4,043,343.68. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,705,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $569,165,301.52. The trade was a 0.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 147,636 shares of company stock worth $12,530,344. Corporate 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.