Loews Corporation $L Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its stake in shares of Loews Corporation (NYSE:L) by 36.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 81,575 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 47,007 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Loews were worth $8,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Loews during the second quarter valued at $665,658,000. Aviva PLC increased its holdings in shares of Loews by 1,921.5% in the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 138,816 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,724,000 after purchasing an additional 131,949 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Loews by 27.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 592,923 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,920,000 after purchasing an additional 127,782 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam lifted its holdings in shares of Loews by 2,586.7% during the second quarter. Ossiam now owns 117,597 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,779,000 after purchasing an additional 113,220 shares during the period. Finally, Letson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Loews in the third quarter valued at approximately $10,317,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

Loews Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of L opened at $108.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 0.61. Loews Corporation has a 52 week low of $78.98 and a 52 week high of $114.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $105.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Loews (NYSE:L) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The insurance provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Loews had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 9.03%.The company had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter.

Loews Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Loews’s payout ratio is currently 3.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles M. Diker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.93, for a total transaction of $155,635.06. Following the sale, the director directly owned 21,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,330,640.42. This represents a 6.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.07, for a total value of $5,253,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 12,909,642 shares in the company, valued at $1,356,416,084.94. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 131,187 shares of company stock valued at $13,921,541 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Loews in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Loews presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

About Loews

Loews Corporation (NYSE: L) is a diversified holding company that owns and operates businesses across insurance, hospitality, energy-related operations and other industrial and investment activities. The company holds controlling and significant minority interests in subsidiaries that run as standalone businesses, with corporate oversight focused on capital allocation, risk management and long-term value creation for shareholders.

One of Loews’ principal businesses is insurance, conducted through CNA Financial, a commercial property and casualty insurer that underwrites a range of business insurance products for corporate and institutional clients.