Invesco Ltd. Sells 299,782 Shares of Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in Chubb Limited by 11.5% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 2.3 million shares worth about $694 million.
• Chubb recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.97 and announced a $5 billion share buyback plan, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• Analysts have mixed views on Chubb's stock, with ratings ranging from a strong buy to a sell, and an average target price currently set at $301.50.

Invesco Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB - Free Report) by 11.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,299,799 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 299,782 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.57% of Chubb worth $694,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chubb by 120.9% in the first quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 10,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,080,000 after buying an additional 5,582 shares during the period. Davis Rea LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Chubb in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,117,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chubb by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,753,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $760,853,000 after buying an additional 366,559 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Chubb by 3.3% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 43,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,070,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Chubb by 9.1% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 549 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Chubb

In other news, Director Michael Corbat purchased 425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $269.80 per share, with a total value of $114,665.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $661,010. This represents a 20.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO John W. Keogh sold 85,083 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.24, for a total value of $24,694,489.92. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 237,728 shares in the company, valued at $68,998,174.72. This represents a 26.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 100,390 shares of company stock worth $29,163,135 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

Chubb Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of CB stock traded up $4.29 on Wednesday, reaching $274.06. 107,279 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,785,836. The company has a market cap of $109.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Chubb Limited has a one year low of $252.16 and a one year high of $306.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $278.90 and a 200-day moving average of $282.48.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.84 by $0.30. Chubb had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.38 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Chubb Limited will post 21.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Chubb declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 15th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Chubb Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on CB shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Chubb in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $326.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Chubb from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Chubb from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $303.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Chubb from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Chubb from $304.00 to $292.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $302.31.

Chubb 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.