Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Shares in Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 82,110 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,799,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in Cincinnati Financial by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 86,296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,401,000 after acquiring an additional 4,576 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 45,377 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,521,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 6,594 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Cincinnati Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,935,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 345.6% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,729 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341 shares during the period. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Cincinnati Financial from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.00.

Cincinnati Financial Price Performance

Shares of CINF opened at $146.22 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $139.76 and its 200 day moving average is $142.31. Cincinnati Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $109.93 and a 12-month high of $161.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $22.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07, a P/E/G ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 0.66.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $3.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $1.24. Cincinnati Financial had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 20.22%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cincinnati Financial Co. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cincinnati Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is a positive change from Cincinnati Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Cincinnati Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.97%.

About Cincinnati Financial

Cincinnati Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides property casualty insurance products in the United States. It operates through five segments: Commercial Lines Insurance, Personal Lines Insurance, Excess and Surplus Lines Insurance, Life Insurance, and Investments. The Commercial Lines Insurance segment offers coverage for commercial casualty, commercial property, commercial auto, and workers' compensation.