Groupe la Francaise Invests $37.19 Million in Chubb Limited $CB

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise has invested approximately $37.19 million in Chubb Limited during the first quarter, acquiring 124,635 shares of the insurance company.
• Several hedge funds increased their stakes in Chubb, with GQG Partners LLC boosting its holdings by 112.1%, now owning shares worth over $2.8 billion.
• Chubb recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.97 per share, representing a 1.4% dividend yield, and initiated a stock repurchase plan worth $5 billion.

Groupe la Francaise bought a new position in Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 124,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $37,186,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chubb by 112.1% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 9,394,018 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,836,899,000 after acquiring an additional 4,964,298 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chubb by 16.4% in the first 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 during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chubb by 6.9% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,696,682 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,418,398,000 after purchasing an additional 304,751 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Chubb by 46.7% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 1,403,545 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,084,133,000 after purchasing an additional 522,049 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on CB shares. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Chubb from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Chubb in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $326.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Chubb from $304.00 to $292.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays downgraded shares of Chubb from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $298.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Chubb to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $302.00.

Chubb Price Performance

CB opened at $277.3750 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $252.16 and a 52-week high of $306.91. The company has a 50 day moving average of $276.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $282.53. The company has a market cap of $110.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.53.

Chubb (NYSE:CB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Chubb had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.38 earnings per share. Chubb's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Chubb Limited will post 21.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Chubb Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.97 per share. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Chubb's payout ratio is presently 17.12%.

Chubb announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Chubb

In other news, COO John W. Keogh bought 9,810 shares of Chubb stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $292.99 per share, with a total value of $2,874,231.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 247,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,526,158.62. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Corbat bought 425 shares of Chubb stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.80 per share, for a total transaction of $114,665.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $661,010. This represents a 20.99% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

About Chubb

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.

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