Royal Bank of Canada Purchases 1,403,545 Shares of Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB)

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB) by 46.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,406,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,403,545 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Chubb were worth $1,217,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Chubb by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,772,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $511,226,000 after purchasing an additional 388,746 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Chubb by 1.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Canopy Partners LLC boosted its stake in Chubb by 94.4% in the fourth quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 4,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,340 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC acquired a new position in Chubb in the fourth quarter worth $2,442,000. Finally, Boston Common Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Chubb by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 91,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,270,000 after purchasing an additional 6,792 shares in the last quarter. 83.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chubb Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CB opened at $292.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $117.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $288.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $280.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Chubb Limited has a fifty-two week low of $251.42 and a fifty-two week high of $306.91.

Chubb (NYSE:CB) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.22 billion. Chubb had a net margin of 16.63% and a return on equity of 13.75%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Chubb Limited will post 21.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Chubb Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.97 per share. 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 currently 17.52%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CB. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Chubb in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. HSBC raised shares of Chubb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $323.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Chubb from $316.00 to $314.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Chubb in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Chubb from $268.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Timothy Alan Boroughs sold 14,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.12, for a total value of $4,367,177.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,194 shares in the company, valued at $8,644,927.28. This represents a 33.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO George F. Ohsiek sold 763 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.41, for a total transaction of $221,582.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,820,978.04. This trade represents a 3.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, 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.