Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 34.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 139,841 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 73,464 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.06% of Loews worth $11,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Loews during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Loews in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Loews during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Loews during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Loews during the third quarter worth $49,000. 58.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Loews news, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of Loews stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.26, for a total transaction of $4,163,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,939,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $994,097,507.02. The trade was a 0.42 % 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 stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.83, for a total value of $99,507.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at $1,728,437.98. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 126,146 shares of company stock worth $10,499,507 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 18.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Loews Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:L opened at $83.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.63. Loews Co. has a 1 year low of $67.85 and a 1 year high of $87.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.83.

Loews Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Loews’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.32%.

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.