Royal Bank of Canada Sells 156,789 Shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its position in Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 928,399 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 156,789 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.43% of Loews worth $78,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in L. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Loews during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Loews during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Loews by 387.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in Loews during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Loews during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

Loews Stock Performance

Shares of L opened at $88.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. Loews Co. has a twelve month low of $73.15 and a twelve month high of $92.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $87.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.39. The firm has a market cap of $18.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 0.70.

Loews (NYSE:L) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter. Loews had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 8.04%. The firm had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter.

Loews Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. Loews’s payout ratio is currently 4.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loews

In other news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of Loews stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.08, for a total value of $4,254,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,105,529 shares in the company, valued at $604,538,407.32. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard Waldo Scott sold 9,019 shares of Loews stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $792,950.48. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,901 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,575.92. This trade represents a 21.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 156,655 shares of company stock valued at $13,323,294. 19.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Loews from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

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.