Costello Asset Management INC Acquires Shares of 3,325 Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB)

Key Points

• Costello Asset Management INC purchased 3,325 shares of Chubb Limited valued at approximately $1,004,000, as reported in a recent SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in Chubb, with Canopy Partners LLC and Legato Capital Management LLC boosting their stakes by 94.4% and 120.9%, respectively.
• Chubb recently disclosed an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.97 per share, along with a $5 billion share repurchase program aimed at signaling stock undervaluation.

Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CB. Capital World Investors increased its position in Chubb by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,481,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,172,194,000 after buying an additional 212,889 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Chubb by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,893,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,457,402,000 after buying an additional 131,075 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chubb by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 6,238,632 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,884,004,000 after purchasing an additional 878,177 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Chubb by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,406,052 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,217,392,000 after acquiring an additional 1,403,545 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Chubb by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,923,754 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,084,133,000 after buying an additional 522,049 shares during the period. 83.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chubb Stock Down 0.2%

Chubb stock traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $269.14. The company had a trading volume of 1,588,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,195,535. Chubb Limited has a fifty-two week low of $252.16 and a fifty-two week high of $306.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's fifty day moving average is $280.53 and its 200-day moving average is $282.31.

Chubb (NYSE:CB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.84 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.53 billion. Chubb had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Chubb Limited will post 21.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Chubb Increases Dividend

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

Chubb declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CB. Evercore ISI set a $312.00 target price on Chubb in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group cut their target price on Chubb from $304.00 to $292.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Chubb from $307.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Chubb from $314.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Chubb from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a 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 issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $301.50.

Insider Transactions at Chubb

In other news, Director Michael Corbat purchased 425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.80 per share, with a total value of $114,665.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $661,010. The trade was a 20.99% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO John W. Keogh sold 85,083 shares of the business's 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 directly owned 237,728 shares in the company, valued at $68,998,174.72. This trade represents a 26.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 100,390 shares of company stock worth $29,163,135. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.