Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Takes $2 Million Position in Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,939 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,000,000. Cincinnati Financial makes up approximately 1.9% of Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 4.3% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 188,187 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,367,000 after purchasing an additional 7,709 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 349,153 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,123,000 after purchasing an additional 46,595 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 40.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 168,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,904,000 after buying an additional 48,597 shares in the last quarter. United Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Cincinnati Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $888,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cincinnati Financial during the 4th quarter worth $179,305,000. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cincinnati Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of CINF stock opened at $135.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Cincinnati Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $96.86 and a fifty-two week high of $139.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $130.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.04.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.33. Cincinnati Financial had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Cincinnati Financial Co. will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

Cincinnati Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Cincinnati Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Cincinnati Financial from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America cut their target price on Cincinnati Financial from $151.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised Cincinnati Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.57.

Cincinnati Financial Company Profile

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.