Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Loews Corporation $L

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Loews Corporation (NYSE:L) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 210,353 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 18,618 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Loews worth $21,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Loews by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,060 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Loews by 13.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 8,166 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $820,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in shares of Loews by 6.4% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,496 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Loews by 30.5% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 46,960 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,714,000 after acquiring an additional 10,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Loews by 44.7% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 32,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,267,000 after purchasing an additional 10,050 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

Loews Stock Performance

NYSE L opened at $111.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $104.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 0.61. Loews Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $78.98 and a fifty-two week high of $112.70.

Loews Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Loews’s payout ratio is presently 3.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Loews

In related news, Director Ann E. Berman sold 1,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.10, for a total transaction of $156,096.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $722,756.60. This trade represents a 17.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.07, for a total transaction of $5,253,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,909,642 shares in the company, valued at $1,356,416,084.94. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 125,770 shares of company stock valued at $13,325,818 in the last three months. 19.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Loews Company Profile

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.