Royal Bank of Canada Sells 156,789 Shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its position in Loews Co. (NYSE:L - Free Report) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 928,399 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 156,789 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.43% of Loews worth $78,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Loews by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,287,833 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $109,067,000 after buying an additional 77,386 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Loews during the fourth quarter worth $440,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Loews during the fourth quarter worth $425,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Loews by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,433 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Loews by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 162,256 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $13,741,000 after buying an additional 20,874 shares during the last quarter. 58.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Loews Price Performance

Shares of NYSE L traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $87.86. 764,042 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 728,907. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Loews Co. has a one year low of $73.15 and a one year high of $92.42. The stock has a market cap of $18.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $87.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.48.

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

Loews Dividend Announcement

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

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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Loews news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 47,636 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 6,705,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $569,165,301.52. This represents a 0.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard Waldo Scott sold 9,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 now directly owns 33,901 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,575.92. This trade represents a 21.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 156,655 shares of company stock valued at $13,323,294 over the last 90 days. 18.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Loews Company 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.