Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Decreases Stake in Chubb Limited $CB

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC reduced its stake in Chubb Limited by 13.3%, holding approximately 514,362 shares valued at $155.33 million.
• Chubb's recent earnings report showed a net margin of 16.08% and earnings per share of $6.14, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• The company's Board of Directors approved a $5 billion share repurchase program, allowing for the buyback of up to 4.3% of its shares.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC cut its position in shares of Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 514,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 78,716 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.13% of Chubb worth $155,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CB. Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chubb by 120.9% during the 1st quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 10,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,080,000 after acquiring an additional 5,582 shares in the last quarter. Davis Rea LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Chubb during the first quarter worth approximately $5,117,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Chubb by 15.4% during 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 worth $760,853,000 after purchasing an additional 366,559 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Chubb by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 43,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,070,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. 83.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Chubb in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $326.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Chubb from $314.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Chubb from $285.00 to $267.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Chubb to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Chubb from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $298.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $302.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO John W. Keogh sold 85,083 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.24, for a total value of $24,694,489.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 237,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,998,174.72. This represents a 26.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Corbat bought 425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.80 per share, with a total value of $114,665.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 2,450 shares in the company, valued at $661,010. This trade represents a 20.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,390 shares of company stock valued at $29,163,135 in the last 90 days. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Chubb Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CB traded up $0.6750 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $273.5950. 751,168 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,777,197. Chubb Limited has a 12 month low of $252.16 and a 12 month high of $306.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $277.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $282.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $109.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.53.

Chubb (NYSE:CB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.84 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.53 billion. Chubb had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm's revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.38 EPS. Research analysts expect that Chubb Limited will post 21.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chubb Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.97 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Chubb's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.12%.

Chubb announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Chubb

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.