Westpac Banking Corp Buys Shares of 47,201 Loews Corporation $L

Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of Loews Corporation (NYSE:L) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 47,201 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,344,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Loews during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,621,369,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Loews in the 4th quarter worth approximately $577,279,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Loews in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $184,377,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Loews in the second quarter valued at approximately $107,461,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Loews by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,237,922 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $340,986,000 after acquiring an additional 786,381 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Loews

In related news, Director Dino Robusto acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $104.74 per share, for a total transaction of $523,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,072,013.90. The trade was a 95.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised Loews from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

Loews Stock Performance

Shares of L opened at $109.85 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $113.74 and its 200-day moving average is $110.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Loews Corporation has a 12-month low of $95.10 and a 12-month high of $121.01.

Loews (NYSE:L) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter. Loews had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 8.60%. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter.

Loews Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Loews’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.06%.

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.