Chubb Limited $CB Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Key Points

• Franklin Resources trimmed its Chubb stake by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,124 shares and ending with 296,110 shares valued at about $92.4 million.
• Several other large investors adjusted their positions as well, with Berkshire Hathaway notably increasing its Chubb holdings by 15.9%; overall, institutional investors own 83.81% of the stock.
• Chubb raised its quarterly dividend to $1.02 per share from $0.97 and reported strong recent results, including $6.82 EPS and $14.93 billion in quarterly revenue.

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its position in Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB - Free Report) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 296,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,124 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Chubb worth $92,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its position in shares of Chubb by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 31,332,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,843,710,000 after purchasing an additional 4,299,111 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Chubb by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,045,793 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,827,852,000 after purchasing an additional 68,553 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Chubb by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,053,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,426,475,000 after acquiring an additional 427,512 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Chubb by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,929,858 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,428,278,000 after acquiring an additional 513,852 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Chubb during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,081,190,000. 83.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on CB shares. Weiss Ratings raised Chubb from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Chubb from $372.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Chubb from $356.00 to $352.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Evercore increased their price objective on Chubb from $347.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Chubb from $326.00 to $339.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $349.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Olivier Steimer sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.30, for a total transaction of $658,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,386,612.40. This represents a 7.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO John W. Keogh sold 23,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.51, for a total value of $7,394,730.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 203,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,370,056.22. This trade represents a 10.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Chubb Stock Performance

Shares of CB stock opened at $330.55 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $128.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $324.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $318.67. Chubb Limited has a 12-month low of $264.10 and a 12-month high of $345.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Chubb (NYSE:CB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $6.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $14.93 billion during the quarter. Chubb had a return on equity of 14.30% and a net margin of 18.58%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Chubb Limited will post 26.8 EPS for the current year.

Chubb Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a positive change from Chubb's previous quarterly dividend of $0.97. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Chubb's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.41%.

Chubb Company Profile

Chubb is a global property and casualty insurance company that underwrites a broad range of commercial and personal insurance products and related services. Its offerings include commercial property and casualty coverage, specialty liability, professional and management liability, cyber and technology insurance, marine and energy, surety, accident and health solutions, and high-net-worth personal lines such as homeowners, auto and valuables protection. Chubb serves businesses, individuals and institutions with tailored underwriting and risk-transfer solutions across multiple industry sectors.

In addition to core underwriting, Chubb provides risk engineering, loss control, claims management and risk consulting services intended to reduce loss severity and help clients manage exposures.

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