D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L - Free Report) by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 313,114 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 87,917 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.14% of Loews worth $26,518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Loews in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its position in Loews by 387.6% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 434 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in Loews during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Loews during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Loews during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Richard Waldo Scott sold 9,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $792,950.48. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,575.92. The trade was a 21.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.08, for a total transaction of $4,254,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,105,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $604,538,407.32. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 156,655 shares of company stock valued at $13,323,294 in the last 90 days. 19.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Loews Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE L traded up $1.51 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $88.88. 488,169 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 729,924. The firm has a market cap of $18.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 0.70. Loews Co. has a twelve month low of $73.15 and a twelve month high of $92.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Loews Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. Loews's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.11%.

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.