Townsquare Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Chubb Limited by 38.4%, bringing its total holdings to approximately $4.70 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Chubb's Board of Directors announced a share repurchase program allowing the company to buy back $5.00 billion in outstanding shares, indicating confidence in the stock’s valuation.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.97, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%.

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB - Free Report) by 38.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,314 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Chubb were worth $4,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CB. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chubb by 26,761.4% during the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 5,360,455 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,481,094,000 after purchasing an additional 5,340,499 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Chubb by 36,831.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,084,033 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $629,357,000 after acquiring an additional 2,078,390 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Chubb by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,406,052 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,217,392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403,545 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Chubb in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $336,972,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Chubb by 1,243.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 680,456 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $205,491,000 after purchasing an additional 629,822 shares during the period. 83.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chubb Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:CB traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $275.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 319,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,784,908. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $278.56 and a 200-day moving average of $282.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Chubb Limited has a 52-week low of $252.16 and a 52-week high of $306.91.

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

Chubb declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 15th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chubb

In other news, insider John J. Lupica sold 5,513 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.06, for a total transaction of $1,599,100.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 91,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,447,670.80. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO John W. Keogh sold 85,083 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.24, for a total transaction of $24,694,489.92. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 237,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,998,174.72. This trade represents a 26.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 100,390 shares of company stock worth $29,163,135 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on CB shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Chubb to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Chubb from $285.00 to $267.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. HSBC lowered Chubb from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $317.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Hsbc Global Res lowered Chubb from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Chubb from $314.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $302.31.

Chubb Company Profile

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.