Loews Corporation (NYSE:L) Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV lowered its stake in shares of Loews Corporation (NYSE:L - Free Report) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,563 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 6,967 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Loews were worth $3,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Loews during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its stake in Loews by 387.6% during the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 434 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Loews in the first quarter valued at $40,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Loews by 80.1% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 470 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Loews in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. 58.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Loews Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of L stock traded up $1.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $92.39. The company had a trading volume of 500,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 735,554. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.70. The company's fifty day moving average is $88.78 and its 200 day moving average is $86.53. Loews Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $73.15 and a fifty-two week high of $92.60.

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 return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.47%. The company had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter.

Loews Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 28th. Loews's payout ratio is 4.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Loews news, SVP Richard Waldo Scott sold 9,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $792,950.48. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 33,901 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,575.92. This represents a 21.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 19.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.