Loews Co. (NYSE:L) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L - Free Report) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 248,665 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 7,149 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Loews worth $19,657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in L. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Loews during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Loews in the third quarter worth $47,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Loews during the second quarter worth $45,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Loews in the third quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Loews during the 2nd quarter worth about $51,000. 58.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.16, for a total value of $6,237,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,089,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,005,377,539.32. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles M. Diker sold 1,146 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.83, for a total value of $99,507.18. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,728,437.98. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 126,146 shares of company stock valued at $10,499,507 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 18.70% of the company's stock.

Loews Price Performance

L stock traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $84.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 625,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 724,076. The stock has a market cap of $18.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.83. The company's 50 day moving average is $83.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.93. Loews Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.19 and a fifty-two week high of $87.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Loews Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Loews's payout ratio is currently 3.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Loews from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th.

Loews Company 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.