First Trust Advisors LP Buys 179,772 Shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L - Free Report) by 51.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 531,038 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 179,772 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.24% of Loews worth $44,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Loews Trading Down 1.1 %

L traded down $0.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $85.30. 447,499 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 733,568. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $86.11 and a 200 day moving average of $84.50. Loews Co. has a 12-month low of $73.15 and a 12-month high of $92.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

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

Loews Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Loews's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loews

In related news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $604,538,407.32. This represents a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 3,691 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 151,327 shares of company stock valued at $12,851,055. 18.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.