Teacher Retirement System of Texas Lowers Stock Holdings in Loews Corporation (NYSE:L)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in shares of Loews Corporation (NYSE:L - Free Report) by 73.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,077 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 73,399 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Loews were worth $2,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of L. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Loews in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its position in Loews by 387.6% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 434 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Loews in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Loews by 80.1% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 470 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Loews during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. 58.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Loews Stock Performance

Shares of L stock traded down $0.54 on Thursday, hitting $90.43. 989,958 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 737,307. The firm's 50 day moving average is $89.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.72. Loews Corporation has a one year low of $74.67 and a one year high of $92.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Loews Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Loews news, SVP Richard Waldo Scott sold 9,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $792,950.48. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 33,901 shares in the company, 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 link. Corporate insiders own 19.00% of the company's stock.

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.