Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Purchases 9,950 Shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L - Free Report) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,991 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,950 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Loews were worth $5,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in L. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Loews by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,237 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in Loews by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,065 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Loews by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,248 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Loews by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,306 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Loews by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,568 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. 58.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Loews

In other news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.08, for a total transaction of $4,254,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,105,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at $604,538,407.32. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 3,691 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.89, for a total value of $320,710.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 151,327 shares of company stock worth $12,851,055 in the last quarter. 19.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Loews from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Loews Price Performance

NYSE L traded down $0.49 on Thursday, hitting $86.34. 539,067 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 732,211. Loews Co. has a 52 week low of $73.15 and a 52 week high of $92.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $86.32 and a 200-day moving average of $84.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $18.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49 and a beta of 0.60.

Loews (NYSE:L - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter. Loews had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 8.04%.

Loews Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Loews's dividend payout ratio is currently 3.91%.

About Loews

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.