WestEnd Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB)

WestEnd Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,592 shares during the period. Chubb accounts for about 1.3% of WestEnd Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. WestEnd Advisors LLC's holdings in Chubb were worth $47,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Chubb during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Chubb during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Chubb during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Chubb by 254.3% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Chubb by 56.6% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Chubb from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Chubb from $268.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Chubb from $303.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Chubb from $316.00 to $314.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Chubb from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chubb currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $307.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chubb

In other Chubb news, COO John W. Keogh sold 85,083 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.24, for a total transaction of $24,694,489.92. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 237,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,998,174.72. This represents a 26.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Chubb Stock Performance

CB traded up $1.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $285.12. 3,782,107 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,624,388. The firm has a market cap of $114.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.54. The stock's fifty day moving average is $287.84 and its 200 day moving average is $281.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Chubb Limited has a one year low of $251.42 and a one year high of $306.91.

Chubb (NYSE:CB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.40. The company 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, equities analysts predict that Chubb Limited will post 21.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chubb Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.97 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This is an increase from Chubb's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. Chubb's dividend payout ratio is 18.67%.

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

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.