Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $651,000 in Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,687 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $651,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of L. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Loews in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Loews in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in Loews by 387.6% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 434 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Loews during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Loews in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Institutional investors own 58.33% of the company's stock.

Loews Price Performance

Shares of L stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $89.21. 1,596,589 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 726,163. The stock's fifty day moving average is $87.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.74. The company has a market cap of $18.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Loews Co. has a fifty-two week low of $73.15 and a fifty-two week high of $92.42.

Loews (NYSE:L - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter. Loews had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 8.04%. The firm had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter.

Loews Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. Loews's payout ratio is presently 4.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loews

In related news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of Loews stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.66, for a total value of $4,233,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,755,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $571,923,085.14. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard Waldo Scott sold 9,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $792,950.48. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,980,575.92. This represents a 21.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 106,655 shares of company stock valued at $9,069,294. Corporate insiders own 19.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Loews from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

Loews Profile

Loews Corporation provides commercial property and casualty insurance in the United States and internationally. The company offers specialty insurance products, such as management and professional liability, and other coverage products; surety and fidelity bonds; property insurance products that include standard and excess property, marine and boiler, and machinery coverages; and casualty insurance products, such as workers' compensation, general and product liability, and commercial auto, surplus, and umbrella coverages.