Argent Trust Co Boosts Holdings in Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB)

Key Points

• Argent Trust Co increased its holdings in Chubb Limited by 12.0%, owning 9,780 shares valued at approximately $2.95 million after acquiring additional shares in Q1.
• Chubb reported $6.14 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates of $5.84, with revenues reaching $14.20 billion, a 6.3% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.91 to $0.97, with a current annualized dividend of $3.88 and a dividend yield of 1.5%.

Argent Trust Co boosted its position in Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB - Free Report) by 12.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co's holdings in Chubb were worth $2,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in Chubb in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chubb in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new position in Chubb in the first quarter worth $26,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Chubb in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Chubb by 254.3% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 83.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Chubb

In other Chubb news, Director Michael Corbat bought 425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.80 per share, for a total transaction of $114,665.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,450 shares in the company, valued at $661,010. This trade represents a 20.99% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO John W. Keogh sold 85,083 shares of Chubb stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were 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 owned 237,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,998,174.72. This represents a 26.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,390 shares of company stock valued at $29,163,135. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Chubb Price Performance

Shares of CB traded up $1.94 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $269.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,077,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,810,195. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Chubb Limited has a one year low of $252.16 and a one year high of $306.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.53. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $281.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $282.40.

Chubb (NYSE:CB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.84 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.53 billion. Chubb had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 16.08%. Chubb's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Chubb Limited will post 21.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chubb announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Chubb Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.97 dividend. This is a boost from Chubb's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Chubb's dividend payout ratio is 17.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Chubb from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $303.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Chubb from $314.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays cut Chubb from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $321.00 to $298.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Chubb from $285.00 to $267.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Chubb from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $317.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $301.50.

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.