Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Acquires 83,917 Shares of Loews Corporation $L

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its Loews stake by 1,252.7% in the first quarter, acquiring 83,917 shares and ending the period with 90,616 shares valued at approximately $9.7 million.
• Loews reported quarterly earnings of $1.63 per share on $4.55 billion in revenue, while shares recently traded at $119.64, near their 52-week high of $121.01.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.0625 per share, equivalent to a 0.2% yield, and insiders own 19% of the stock; an analyst rating remains “Buy” despite a recent downgrade by Weiss Ratings.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Loews Corporation (NYSE:L - Free Report) by 1,252.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,616 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 83,917 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund's holdings in Loews were worth $9,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Loews by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 369,994 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $38,724,000 after buying an additional 39,968 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Loews by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 811,194 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $85,427,000 after acquiring an additional 37,327 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Loews by 294.5% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 148,560 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $15,645,000 after acquiring an additional 110,901 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Loews by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 464,458 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $48,912,000 after acquiring an additional 21,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Loews by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,538 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,953,000 after acquiring an additional 10,216 shares during the last quarter. 58.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Loews Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE L opened at $119.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 0.52. Loews Corporation has a one year low of $89.32 and a one year high of $121.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Loews (NYSE:L - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter. Loews had a net margin of 8.83% and a return on equity of 8.51%.

Loews Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Loews's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.18%.

Insider Activity at Loews

In other Loews news, Director Dino Robusto bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $104.74 per share, for a total transaction of $523,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,072,013.90. The trade was a 95.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 19.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered Loews from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy".

About Loews

Loews Corporation NYSE: L is a diversified holding company that owns and operates businesses across insurance, hospitality, energy-related operations and other industrial and investment activities. The company holds controlling and significant minority interests in subsidiaries that run as standalone businesses, with corporate oversight focused on capital allocation, risk management and long-term value creation for shareholders.

One of Loews' principal businesses is insurance, conducted through CNA Financial, a commercial property and casualty insurer that underwrites a range of business insurance products for corporate and institutional clients.

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