Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 68,769 Shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in Loews Co. (NYSE:L - Free Report) by 49.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,072 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 68,769 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Loews were worth $6,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of L. Allstate Corp bought a new stake in Loews in the 4th quarter worth $785,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Loews by 183.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 15,460 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS grew its stake in shares of Loews by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 33,490 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,980 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Loews by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 21,695 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in Loews by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 87,032 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,371,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. 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 note on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insider Activity

In other Loews news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 47,636 shares of Loews stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.88, for a total value of $4,043,343.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,705,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $569,165,301.52. The trade was a 0.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 shares were 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,327 shares of company stock worth $12,851,055. Corporate insiders own 18.70% of the company's stock.

Loews Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE L traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $87.14. 47,084 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 733,888. Loews Co. has a 12-month low of $72.91 and a 12-month high of $92.42. The firm has a market cap of $18.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $85.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.10. 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 (NYSE:L - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Loews's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.