Loews Corporation $L Shares Acquired by KBC Group NV

Key Points

• KBC Group NV increased its stake in Loews Corporation by 42.1% in the first quarter, adding 13,473 shares to bring its total holding to 45,479 shares worth about $4.85 million.
• Other institutional investors also made small increases, and overall 58.33% of Loews stock is held by institutions and hedge funds, while insiders own 19.00%.
• Loews received a modest analyst downgrade from Weiss Ratings, but the stock was still up 0.8% and an analyst consensus from MarketBeat remains a Buy.

KBC Group NV grew its stake in Loews Corporation (NYSE:L - Free Report) by 42.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,479 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,473 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Loews were worth $4,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its position in Loews by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,618 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Loews by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,867 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,356,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in shares of Loews by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,603 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Loews by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,197 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Loews by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 14,006 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 58.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Loews Stock Up 0.8%

Loews stock opened at $115.58 on Friday. Loews Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $89.32 and a fifty-two week high of $119.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $23.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.58.

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

Loews Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Loews's dividend payout ratio is currently 3.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dino Robusto acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $104.74 per share, with a total value of $523,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,072,013.90. The trade was a 95.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 19.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Loews Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.