Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $2.79 Million Stock Holdings in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 57,605 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $2,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CNA. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 9,139 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in CNA Financial by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,703 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in CNA Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 6,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,051 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on CNA. StockNews.com cut shares of CNA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on 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.

CNA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of CNA opened at $49.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s fifty day moving average is $48.88 and its 200-day moving average is $48.86. 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 12 month low of $42.33 and a 12 month high of $52.36.

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

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. This is a boost from CNA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNA Financial

In other CNA Financial news, Chairman Dino Robusto purchased 3,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $47.63 per share, with a total value of $185,566.48. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 724,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,500,218.94. This represents a 0.54 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.06, for a total value of $637,338.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 75,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,709,524.72. This trade represents a 14.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About CNA Financial

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.