Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Loews Corporation $L

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Loews Corporation (NYSE:L) by 3.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 445,297 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 18,135 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Loews were worth $47,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Loews during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Loews in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Loews in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA acquired a new position in shares of Loews during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Loews by 896.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 299 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Loews news, Director Dino Robusto bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $104.74 per share, with a total value of $523,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $1,072,013.90. This trade represents a 95.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Loews in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

Loews Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of L opened at $115.09 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.05. Loews Corporation has a twelve month low of $89.32 and a twelve month high of $119.10.

Loews (NYSE:L) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter. Loews had a return on equity of 8.51% and a net margin of 8.83%.

Loews Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Loews’s payout ratio is presently 3.18%.

Loews Profile

Loews Corporation (NYSE: L) is a diversified holding company that owns and operates businesses across insurance, hospitality, energy-related operations and other industrial and investment activities. The company holds controlling and significant minority interests in subsidiaries that run as standalone businesses, with corporate oversight focused on capital allocation, risk management and long-term value creation for shareholders.

One of Loews’ principal businesses is insurance, conducted through CNA Financial, a commercial property and casualty insurer that underwrites a range of business insurance products for corporate and institutional clients.