Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 1,506 Shares of Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB)

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its position in Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB - Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 404,359 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,506 shares during the period. Chubb accounts for 1.6% of Welch & Forbes LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC owned about 0.10% of Chubb worth $122,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its position in Chubb by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 905 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its position in Chubb by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 783 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Chubb by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC raised its position in Chubb by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 13,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,742,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. raised its position in Chubb by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 798 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.81% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John J. Lupica sold 5,513 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.06, for a total value of $1,599,100.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 91,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,447,670.80. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO John W. Keogh sold 85,083 shares of the business's 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 directly owned 237,728 shares in the company, valued at $68,998,174.72. This trade represents a 26.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,390 shares of company stock valued at $29,163,135. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CB. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Chubb from $278.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays lowered shares of Chubb from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $298.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Chubb from $307.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Chubb in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Chubb from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $307.13.

Chubb Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of CB stock traded down $0.76 on Friday, hitting $274.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,032,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,646,803. The firm has a market cap of $110.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Chubb Limited has a twelve month low of $252.16 and a twelve month high of $306.91. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $286.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $282.21.

Chubb (NYSE:CB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $12.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.22 billion. Chubb had a net margin of 15.05% and a return on equity of 12.37%. As a group, analysts forecast that Chubb Limited will post 21.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chubb declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Chubb Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This is a positive change from Chubb's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Chubb's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.67%.

About Chubb

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.