Optas LLC Has $1.38 Million Position in Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Optas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 101.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 16,286 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,200 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Loews were worth $1,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Loews in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Loews in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Loews in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Loews in the 3rd quarter valued at $129,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Loews by 240.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 1,667 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

Loews Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Loews stock opened at $85.31 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $18.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.57. Loews Co. has a 1 year low of $71.52 and a 1 year high of $87.45.

Loews (NYSE:L) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter. Loews had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 9.71%. The company had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter.

Loews Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Loews’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loews

In other news, Director Charles M. Diker sold 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.83, for a total transaction of $99,507.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,728,437.98. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 directly owns 12,089,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,005,377,539.32. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 133,679 shares of company stock valued at $11,134,916. 18.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Loews from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th.

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.