CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) Shares Bought by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 108.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,377 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $1,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in CNA Financial by 366.7% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,401,539 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $68,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101,217 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 97.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,152,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $51,760,000 after purchasing an additional 570,172 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,068,956 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $49,247,000 after purchasing an additional 334,463 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in CNA Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,012,492 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,551,000 after buying an additional 5,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in CNA Financial by 570.6% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 529,862 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $24,411,000 after buying an additional 450,843 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of CNA stock opened at $48.40 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. CNA Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $41.64 and a 1-year high of $52.36. The firm has a market cap of $13.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a PEG ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.66.

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

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Douglas Worman sold 22,973 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction on 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 owns 133,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,521,628.75. The trade was a 14.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.