Ethic Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Ethic Inc. lessened its holdings in Loews Co. (NYSE:L - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 147,699 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 8,801 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. owned 0.07% of Loews worth $12,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in L. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Loews during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in Loews by 387.6% during the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 434 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Loews during the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Loews during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Loews in the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Loews Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of L traded up $0.41 on Friday, reaching $88.38. The stock had a trading volume of 507,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 731,321. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.99. Loews Co. has a 12-month low of $73.15 and a 12-month high of $92.42.

Loews (NYSE:L - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.74 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Loews's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.66, for a total transaction of $4,233,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,755,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at $571,923,085.14. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard Waldo Scott sold 9,019 shares of the firm's 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 directly owns 33,901 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,575.92. The trade was a 21.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 156,655 shares of company stock worth $13,323,294. 19.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.