Loews Co. (NYSE:L) Shares Sold by Donald Smith & CO. Inc.

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 80.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 77,624 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 314,793 shares during the quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s holdings in Loews were worth $6,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Loews by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,156,933 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,656,376,000 after purchasing an additional 507,513 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Loews in the 1st quarter worth $23,646,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Loews by 77.9% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 525,920 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,307,000 after acquiring an additional 230,231 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Loews by 106.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 353,160 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,338,000 after purchasing an additional 182,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Loews in the second quarter valued at about $13,379,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ann E. Berman sold 1,087 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.38, for a total transaction of $88,460.06. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,998 shares in the company, valued at $406,737.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Ann E. Berman sold 1,087 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.38, for a total transaction of $88,460.06. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,998 shares in the company, valued at $406,737.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan M. Tisch sold 62,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.84, for a total transaction of $5,052,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,781,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $548,227,292.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 88,587 shares of company stock valued at $7,186,460. Corporate insiders own 18.70% of the company’s stock.

Loews Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE L traded up $1.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $80.80. 90,093 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 703,364. The stock has a market cap of $17.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Loews Co. has a 12-month low of $63.23 and a 12-month high of $83.54.

Loews (NYSE:L) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter. Loews had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 9.14%. The company had revenue of $4.27 billion during the quarter.

Loews Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Loews’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on L shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised Loews to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Loews from $115.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

About Loews

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.