AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 567,926 Shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA - Free Report) by 41.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,939,336 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 567,926 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.72% of CNA Financial worth $93,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in CNA Financial by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,486,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $71,919,000 after buying an additional 249,346 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 66.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,177,110 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $56,937,000 after purchasing an additional 468,058 shares in the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. boosted its holdings in CNA Financial by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 661,532 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,998,000 after purchasing an additional 11,597 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in CNA Financial by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 363,389 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $17,577,000 after purchasing an additional 97,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CNA Financial by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 322,473 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,604,000 after buying an additional 24,449 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CNA Financial

In other CNA Financial news, Chairman Dino Robusto bought 3,896 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $47.63 per share, with a total value of $185,566.48. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 724,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,500,218.94. The trade was a 0.54 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.06, for a total value of $637,338.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 75,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,709,524.72. The trade was a 14.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,741 shares of company stock worth $1,559,401. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CNA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on CNA Financial from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut CNA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

CNA Financial Stock Performance

NYSE CNA traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $48.29. 294,745 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 326,585. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72, a P/E/G ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. CNA Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $42.33 and a 1 year high of $52.36. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $48.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.67.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.14. CNA Financial had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 12.90%. On average, equities research analysts expect that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from CNA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. CNA Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.27%.

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.