Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Raises Holdings in Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) by 13.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 309,564 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 36,676 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Cincinnati Financial were worth $36,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CINF. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 252.2% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cincinnati Financial during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cincinnati Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Cincinnati Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Cincinnati Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Cincinnati Financial Price Performance

CINF opened at $134.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Cincinnati Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $96.86 and a 1 year high of $139.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.27. The firm has a market cap of $21.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.96, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Cincinnati Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Cincinnati Financial’s payout ratio is presently 21.56%.

Cincinnati Financial 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.