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

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,687 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $651,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Loews by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 29,128 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,467,000 after acquiring an additional 4,452 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Loews by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 97,517 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,259,000 after acquiring an additional 5,039 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Loews during the 4th quarter valued at about $449,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of Loews by 1,477.0% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 962 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Novem Group purchased a new stake in shares of Loews during the 4th quarter valued at about $678,000. Institutional investors own 58.33% 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 report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Richard Waldo Scott sold 9,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,980,575.92. This represents a 21.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.66, for a total transaction of $4,233,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,755,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at $571,923,085.14. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 106,655 shares of company stock valued at $9,069,294 in the last quarter. 19.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Loews Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE L traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $89.68. 594,026 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 725,465. Loews Co. has a 1 year low of $73.15 and a 1 year high of $92.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.01 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $87.18 and a 200 day moving average of $85.85.

Loews (NYSE:L - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. Loews's payout ratio is currently 4.11%.

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.