Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Grows Stock Holdings in Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L - Free Report) by 116.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,701 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 7,382 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Loews were worth $1,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in L. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Loews by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 752,380 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $59,473,000 after buying an additional 87,259 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Loews during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Loews during the third quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Loews by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 248,665 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,657,000 after purchasing an additional 7,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Loews by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,580 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Loews Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:L traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $85.95. 441,529 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 732,400. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Loews Co. has a 52 week low of $73.15 and a 52 week high of $92.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50 day moving average is $86.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.55.

Loews (NYSE:L - Get Free Report) last issued 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. Loews's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.66, for a total value of $4,233,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,755,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at $571,923,085.14. This represents a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 3,691 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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. Insiders have sold 151,327 shares of company stock worth $12,851,055 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 18.70% of the company's stock.

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.