Shareholders' Equity

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Equity [Abstract]

Shareholders' Equity

Note 12. Shareholders’ Equity

Accumulated other comprehensive income

The tables below display the changes in AOCI by component for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2015 and 2016:

	OTTI Gains (Losses)			Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Investments		Discontinued Operations		Cash Flow     Hedges		Pension     Liability			Foreign  Currency  Translation			Total   Accumulated   Other   Comprehensive   Income (Loss)
(In millions)
Balance, January 1, 2014	$	23		$	622	$	(3)	$	(4)	$	(432	)	$	133		$	339
Sale of subsidiaries		(5	)		(15)		20
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications, after tax of $(8), $(132), $(3), $1, $132 and $0		15			295		2		(2)		(244	)		(94	)		(28)
Reclassification of (gains) losses from accumulated other comprehensive income, after tax of $0, $10, $16, $0, $(7) and $0					(28)		(21)		(1)		9						(41)
Other comprehensive income (loss)		15			267		(19)		(3)		(235	)		(94	)		(69)
Amounts attributable to noncontrolling interests		(1	)		(28)		2		1		26			10			10
Balance, December 31, 2014		32			846		-		(6)		(641	)		49			280
Other comprehensive loss before reclassifications, after tax of $13, $313, $0, $1, $16 and $0		(23	)		(600)				(2)		(31	)		(139	)		(795)
Reclassification of losses from accumulated other comprehensive income, after tax of $(8), $(31), $0, $(2), $(11) and $0		14			43				7		13						77
Other comprehensive income (loss)		(9	)		(557)		-		5		(18	)		(139	)		(718)
Issuance of equity securities by subsidiary											1						1
Amounts attributable to noncontrolling interests		1			58				(2)		9			14			80
Balance, December 31, 2015		24			347		-		(3)		(649	)		(76	)		(357)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications, after tax of $(4), $(133), $0, $0, $9 and $0		9			283						(22	)		(114	)		156
Reclassification of (gains) losses from accumulated other comprehensive income, after tax of $3, $16, $0, $0, $(15) and $0		(6	)		(26)				2		27						(3)
Other comprehensive income (loss)		3			257		-		2		5			(114	)		153
Amounts attributable to noncontrolling interests					(28)				(1)		(2	)		12			(19)
Balance, December 31, 2016	$	27		$	576	$	-	$	(2)	$	(646	)	$	(178	)	$	(223)

Amounts reclassified from AOCI shown above are reported in Net income as follows:

Major Category of AOCI	Affected Line Item
OTTI gains (losses)	Investment gains (losses)
Unrealized gains (losses) on investments	Investment gains (losses)
Unrealized gains (losses) and cash flow hedges related to discontinued operations	Discontinued operations, net
Cash flow hedges	Other revenues and Contract drilling expenses
Pension liability	Other operating expenses

Common Stock Dividends

Dividends of $0.25 per share on the Company’s common stock were declared and paid in 2016, 2015 and 2014.

There are no restrictions on the Company’s retained earnings or net income with regard to payment of dividends. However, as a holding company, Loews relies upon invested cash balances and distributions from its subsidiaries to generate the funds necessary to declare and pay any dividends to holders of its common stock. The ability of the Company’s subsidiaries to pay dividends is subject to, among other things, the availability of sufficient earnings and funds in such subsidiaries, compliance with covenants in their respective credit agreements and applicable state laws, including in the case of the insurance subsidiaries of CNA, laws and rules governing the payment of dividends by regulated insurance companies. See Note 13 for a discussion of the regulatory restrictions on CNA’s availability to pay dividends.

Subsidiary Equity Transactions

The Company purchased 0.3 million shares of CNA common stock at an aggregate cost of $8 million during 2016. The Company’s percentage ownership interest in CNA remained unchanged as a result of these transactions, at 90%. The Company’s purchase price of the shares was lower than the carrying value of its investment in CNA, resulting in an increase to Additional paid-in capital (“APIC”) of $3 million.

Treasury Stock

The Company repurchased 3.4 million, 33.3 million and 14.6 million shares of its common stock at aggregate costs of $134 million, $1.3 billion and $622 million during the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014. As of December 31, 2016 all outstanding treasury stock was retired. Upon retirement, treasury stock was eliminated through a reduction to common stock, APIC and retained earnings.