Bank of Nova Scotia Makes New $358,000 Investment in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $358,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 66.0% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 468,058 shares during the period. CORDA Investment Management LLC. increased its stake in CNA Financial by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 661,532 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,998,000 after acquiring an additional 11,597 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in CNA Financial by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 363,389 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $17,577,000 after purchasing an additional 97,180 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 24,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in CNA Financial in the fourth quarter worth $14,859,000. 98.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 75,612 shares in the company, valued at $3,709,524.72. This represents a 14.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Dino Robusto bought 3,896 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 724,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,500,218.94. This trade represents a 0.54 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,491 shares of company stock valued at $1,261,838 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CNA Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

CNA Financial stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $47.92. The stock had a trading volume of 218,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 321,423. CNA Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $42.33 and a 52 week high of $52.36. The company has a market cap of $12.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.61, a PEG ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The business's 50 day moving average price is $48.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.71.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.14. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 6.72%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a boost from CNA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. CNA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

CNA Financial Company Profile

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.