Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 4,426 Shares of Loews Corporation (NYSE:L)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Loews Corporation (NYSE:L - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 238,902 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,426 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Loews worth $21,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Loews in the fourth quarter worth approximately $623,493,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Loews by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,476,087 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $378,087,000 after purchasing an additional 210,594 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Loews by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,462,387 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $377,920,000 after purchasing an additional 33,428 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Loews by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,097,608 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $177,646,000 after purchasing an additional 53,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Loews by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,499,417 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $126,983,000 after purchasing an additional 217,115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Richard Waldo Scott sold 9,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $792,950.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 33,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,980,575.92. This represents a 21.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 19.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Loews from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

Loews Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Loews stock traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $90.57. The company had a trading volume of 862,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 739,772. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 0.70. Loews Corporation has a 1 year low of $75.16 and a 1 year high of $92.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $89.21 and a 200-day moving average of $86.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Loews (NYSE:L - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter. Loews had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.47%.

Loews Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th were issued a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 28th. Loews's dividend payout ratio is presently 4.11%.

About Loews

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.