Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $307.53.

CB has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Chubb from $303.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Chubb from $307.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Chubb from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. HSBC upgraded shares of Chubb from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $323.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Chubb from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th.

Chubb Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of CB traded down $0.71 on Wednesday, reaching $291.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,306,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,839. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Chubb has a twelve month low of $251.42 and a twelve month high of $306.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $288.02 and a 200-day moving average of $281.63.

Chubb (NYSE:CB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.40. Chubb had a net margin of 16.63% and a return on equity of 13.75%. The company had revenue of $12.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.22 billion. Equities analysts predict that Chubb will post 21.52 EPS for the current year.

Chubb Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This is an increase from Chubb's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Chubb's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.67%.

Chubb declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chubb news, EVP Timothy Alan Boroughs sold 14,748 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,194 shares in the company, valued at $8,644,927.28. This represents a 33.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO John W. Keogh sold 85,083 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.24, for a total transaction of $24,694,489.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 237,728 shares in the company, valued at $68,998,174.72. This represents a 26.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 138,553 shares of company stock valued at $40,387,620. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Chubb

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Chubb by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chubb during the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Chubb by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in shares of Chubb by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 3,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,020,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Chubb by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 83.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chubb Company 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.