Mariner LLC Grows Stock Position in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Mariner LLC lifted its stake in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,213 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,202 shares during the period. Mariner LLC’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,177,110 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $56,937,000 after purchasing an additional 468,058 shares during the period. CORDA Investment Management LLC. increased its position in shares of CNA Financial by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 661,532 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,998,000 after buying an additional 11,597 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of CNA Financial by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 363,389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,577,000 after purchasing an additional 97,180 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of CNA Financial by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 322,473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,604,000 after purchasing an additional 24,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,859,000. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of CNA Financial from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered CNA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insider Transactions at CNA Financial

In other CNA Financial news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total value of $319,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 718,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,665,573.28. This trade represents a 0.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.06, for a total value of $637,338.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 75,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,709,524.72. This represents a 14.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,491 shares of company stock worth $1,261,838 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of CNA Financial stock opened at $47.65 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. CNA Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $42.33 and a twelve month high of $52.36. The company has a market cap of $12.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.52 and its 200 day moving average is $48.70.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.14. CNA Financial had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 12.90%. Research analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from CNA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. CNA Financial’s payout ratio is 52.27%.

CNA Financial 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.