Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Stake in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 677,110 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 6,337 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.25% of CNA Financial worth $26,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 258.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 555 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Credit Suisse AG bought a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the first quarter worth about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CNA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CNA Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of CNA Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $39.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th.

CNA Financial Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of CNA Financial stock opened at $43.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. CNA Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $36.41 and a 1 year high of $47.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $44.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.45. The stock has a market cap of $11.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.78, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.64.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.23. CNA Financial had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 14.33%. The company had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that CNA Financial Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $2.44 dividend. This is a boost from CNA Financial’s previous None dividend of $1.62. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.73%.

CNA Financial Company Profile

CNA Financial Corporation provides commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States and internationally. It operates through Specialty, Commercial, International, Life & Group, and Corporate & Other segments. The company offers professional liability coverages and risk management services to various professional firms, including architects, real estate agents, and accounting and law firms; directors and officers, employment practices, fiduciary, and fidelity and cyber coverages to small and mid-size firms, public and privately held firms, and not-for-profit organizations; professional and general liability, as well as associated casualty coverages for healthcare industry; surety and fidelity bonds; and warranty and alternative risks products.