Share Repurchase Plan Authorized by Chubb (NYSE:CB) Board

Chubb (NYSE:CB) announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 15th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Chubb Price Performance

Chubb stock opened at $294.19 on Friday. Chubb has a 52 week low of $251.42 and a 52 week high of $306.91. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $288.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $280.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $117.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.57.

Chubb (NYSE:CB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.40. Chubb had a net margin of 16.63% and a return on equity of 13.75%. The company had revenue of $12.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.22 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Chubb will post 21.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Chubb Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.97 dividend. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change from Chubb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Chubb’s payout ratio is currently 17.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CB. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Chubb in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. HSBC upgraded Chubb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $323.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Chubb from $316.00 to $314.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Chubb in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Chubb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Chubb currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.86.

Insider Activity at Chubb

In other news, EVP Joseph F. Wayland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.96, for a total transaction of $2,869,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,703 shares in the company, valued at $22,297,652.88. The trade was a 11.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy Alan Boroughs sold 14,748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.12, for a total transaction of $4,367,177.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,644,927.28. This trade represents a 33.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 63,470 shares of company stock worth $18,562,730. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

About Chubb

Chubb Limited provides insurance and reinsurance products worldwide. The company's North America Commercial P&C Insurance segment offers commercial property, casualty, workers' compensation, package policies, risk management, financial lines, marine, construction, environmental, medical risk, cyber risk, surety, and casualty; and group accident and health insurance to large, middle market, and small commercial businesses.