Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Loews Co. (NYSE:L)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Loews Co. (NYSE:L) by 11.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,632 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,304 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Loews were worth $1,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of L. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Loews by 244.0% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 375 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Loews in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Loews in the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Loews during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Loews during the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.16, for a total transaction of $6,237,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,089,677 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,377,539.32. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ann E. Berman sold 1,087 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.38, for a total value of $88,460.06. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $406,737.24. This represents a 17.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 213,587 shares of company stock worth $17,586,460. Company insiders own 18.70% of the company’s stock.

Loews Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Loews stock opened at $87.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 0.82. Loews Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.20 and a fifty-two week high of $87.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.04 and a 200 day moving average of $78.64.

Loews Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. Loews’s payout ratio is 3.32%.

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.