Barclays PLC Sells 180,210 Shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Barclays PLC decreased its position in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L - Free Report) by 24.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 572,170 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 180,210 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.26% of Loews worth $48,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in L. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in Loews by 7.0% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 10,717 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Loews during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Loews in the 3rd quarter worth $205,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Loews by 3.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 248,665 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,657,000 after acquiring an additional 7,149 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Loews by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,580 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the period. 58.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $4,254,000.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 3,691 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.89, for a total transaction of $320,710.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 151,327 shares of company stock worth $12,851,055 in the last three months. Company insiders own 18.70% of the company's stock.

Loews Stock Performance

NYSE L traded up $0.69 on Wednesday, hitting $86.40. 76,044 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 731,114. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $85.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.32. The company has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 0.60. Loews Co. has a 52-week low of $73.15 and a 52-week high of $92.42.

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

Loews Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Loews's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.91%.

Loews Profile

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.