NorthRock Partners LLC Purchases 1,808 Shares of Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB)

NorthRock Partners LLC raised its holdings in Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB) by 145.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,808 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Chubb were worth $844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CB. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Chubb by 28.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,772,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $511,226,000 after acquiring an additional 388,746 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Chubb by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,350,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $373,110,000 after purchasing an additional 14,610 shares during the period. Canopy Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Chubb by 94.4% during the fourth quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 4,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,331,000 after buying an additional 2,340 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners II LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chubb in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,442,000. Finally, Boston Common Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Chubb by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 91,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,270,000 after buying an additional 6,792 shares during the last quarter. 83.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chubb Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE CB opened at $292.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $288.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $280.64. The stock has a market cap of $117.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.57. Chubb Limited has a 52-week low of $251.42 and a 52-week high of $306.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.25.

Chubb (NYSE:CB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $12.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.22 billion. Chubb had a return on equity of 13.75% and a net margin of 16.63%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Chubb Limited will post 21.52 EPS for the current year.

Chubb Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.97 dividend. This is a positive change from Chubb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Chubb’s payout ratio is 17.52%.

Chubb declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Chubb in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Chubb from $307.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Chubb from $268.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Chubb from $316.00 to $314.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Chubb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $323.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy Alan Boroughs sold 14,748 shares of Chubb stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.12, for a total transaction of $4,367,177.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,644,927.28. The trade was a 33.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Joseph F. Wayland sold 12,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.82, for a total transaction of $3,605,943.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,120,374.04. The trade was a 13.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 63,470 shares of company stock worth $18,562,730. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Chubb Profile

Chubb Limited provides insurance and reinsurance products worldwide. The company's North America Commercial P&C Insurance segment offers commercial property, casualty, workers' compensation, package policies, risk management, financial lines, marine, construction, environmental, medical risk, cyber risk, surety, and casualty; and group accident and health insurance to large, middle market, and small commercial businesses.