Nomura Holdings Inc. Acquires Shares of 5,959 Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Loews Co. (NYSE:L - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,959 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in L. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Loews in the 4th quarter valued at about $623,493,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Loews by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,499,417 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $126,983,000 after purchasing an additional 217,115 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Loews by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,476,087 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $378,087,000 after acquiring an additional 210,594 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Loews by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 531,038 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $44,974,000 after acquiring an additional 179,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Loews during the 4th quarter valued at about $12,727,000. 58.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Loews Trading Up 1.3%

L traded up $1.18 on Tuesday, reaching $89.06. 611,626 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 729,156. The company's 50 day moving average is $87.22 and its 200-day moving average is $85.65. The company has a market cap of $18.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 0.70. Loews Co. has a twelve month low of $73.15 and a twelve month high of $92.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34.

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

Loews Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Loews 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 owns 33,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,980,575.92. This trade represents a 21.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 47,636 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.88, for a total transaction of $4,043,343.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,705,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at $569,165,301.52. This trade represents a 0.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 106,655 shares of company stock valued at $9,069,294. 19.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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.