National Bank of Canada FI Buys 13,842 Shares of Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF)

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 149,683 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,842 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Cincinnati Financial were worth $21,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 150,515 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $21,629,000 after purchasing an additional 41,932 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 48,564 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,979,000 after buying an additional 3,119 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 668,341 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $96,041,000 after acquiring an additional 167,898 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 30,345 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,344,000 after acquiring an additional 12,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mechanics Financial Corp grew its position in Cincinnati Financial by 647.0% during the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 747 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CINF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Cincinnati Financial from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Cincinnati Financial from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.20.

Cincinnati Financial Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CINF opened at $144.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $22.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97, a P/E/G ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $141.22 and a 200-day moving average of $143.00. Cincinnati Financial Co. has a one year low of $109.93 and a one year high of $161.75.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $1.24. Cincinnati Financial had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 20.22%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cincinnati Financial Co. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Cincinnati Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. This is an increase from Cincinnati Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 24th. Cincinnati Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.97%.

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.