Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Reduces Holdings in Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L - Free Report) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 114,395 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 9,741 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 0.05% of Loews worth $9,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Loews by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 384,459 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $32,560,000 after buying an additional 148,890 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Loews by 387.6% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 434 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Loews by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,097,608 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $177,646,000 after purchasing an additional 53,625 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Loews by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 7,963 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 2,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berger Financial Group Inc boosted its position in shares of Loews by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 66,321 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,617,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. 58.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Richard Waldo Scott sold 9,019 shares of Loews stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $792,950.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 33,901 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,575.92. The trade was a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.66, for a total value of $4,233,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,755,529 shares in the company, valued at $571,923,085.14. This represents a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 156,655 shares of company stock valued at $13,323,294 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 19.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Loews from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

Loews Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE L traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $88.38. The company had a trading volume of 507,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 731,321. Loews Co. has a 1 year low of $73.15 and a 1 year high of $92.42. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $86.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 0.70.

Loews (NYSE:L - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter. Loews had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 8.08%.

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 issued a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. Loews's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.11%.

Loews Company Profile

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.