Chubb (NYSE:CB) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $314.12 and last traded at $312.99, with a volume of 440656 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $310.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CB. Bank of America upped their price target on Chubb from $276.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Chubb from $336.00 to $364.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Chubb in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $283.00 price objective on shares of Chubb in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Chubb in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chubb currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $311.90.

Chubb Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $123.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $292.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $283.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Chubb (NYSE:CB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $7.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.51 by $1.98. Chubb had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm had revenue of $16.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Chubb Limited will post 21.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Chubb Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.97 dividend. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Chubb’s dividend payout ratio is 16.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chubb news, EVP Timothy Alan Boroughs sold 10,580 shares of Chubb stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.17, for a total transaction of $3,133,478.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,512.20. This trade represents a 45.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Joseph F. Wayland sold 5,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.08, for a total transaction of $1,731,976.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 60,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,000,968.44. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 57,333 shares of company stock worth $16,629,873 over the last three months. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its stake in Chubb by 15.9% in the third quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 31,332,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,843,710,000 after acquiring an additional 4,299,111 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Chubb in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,195,137,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Chubb by 75.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,798,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $785,468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199,963 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Chubb during the third quarter worth about $220,217,000. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Chubb by 55.4% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 1,946,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,493,000 after buying an additional 693,740 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

Chubb Company Profile

Chubb is a global property and casualty insurance company that underwrites a broad range of commercial and personal insurance products and related services. Its offerings include commercial property and casualty coverage, specialty liability, professional and management liability, cyber and technology insurance, marine and energy, surety, accident and health solutions, and high-net-worth personal lines such as homeowners, auto and valuables protection. Chubb serves businesses, individuals and institutions with tailored underwriting and risk-transfer solutions across multiple industry sectors.

In addition to core underwriting, Chubb provides risk engineering, loss control, claims management and risk consulting services intended to reduce loss severity and help clients manage exposures.