CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) Shares Bought by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 65.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,665 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,231 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $522,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in CNA Financial by 4.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 6,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of CNA Financial by 69.3% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 26,737 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 10,940 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 131.8% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 35,470 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,736,000 after acquiring an additional 20,169 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in CNA Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $840,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,012,492 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $49,551,000 after purchasing an additional 5,539 shares during the period. 98.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of CNA Financial from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on CNA Financial from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th.

CNA Financial Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of CNA Financial stock opened at $50.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $13.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.38 and a beta of 0.66. CNA Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $40.92 and a 52-week high of $52.36. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.11.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.01. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 9.26%. The business had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. CNA Financial’s payout ratio is currently 36.67%.

Insider Transactions at CNA Financial

In other CNA Financial news, EVP Douglas Worman sold 22,973 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.75, for a total transaction of $1,119,933.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 133,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,521,628.75. This represents a 14.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Mark Steven James sold 18,547 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.58, for a total transaction of $938,107.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,159,141.86. The trade was a 44.73 % 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.

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.