Aviva PLC Sells 148 Shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Aviva PLC reduced its position in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,867 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 148 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Loews were worth $582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Loews during the fourth quarter valued at $623,493,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Loews by 345.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 296,538 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,114,000 after acquiring an additional 229,965 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Loews by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,499,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $126,983,000 after acquiring an additional 217,115 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Loews by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,476,087 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $378,087,000 after purchasing an additional 210,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Loews during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,727,000. 58.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Loews Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE L opened at $84.33 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Loews Co. has a 12 month low of $72.91 and a 12 month high of $92.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $85.97 and its 200 day moving average is $83.96. The stock has a market cap of $17.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.18 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Loews Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Loews

In other news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $4,254,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,105,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $604,538,407.32. The trade was a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 3,691 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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. Insiders sold 151,327 shares of company stock worth $12,851,055 over the last 90 days. 18.70% of the stock is owned by 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.