Blue Capital Inc. Takes $967,000 Position in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Blue Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 20,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $967,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 663.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in CNA Financial by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,475 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in CNA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in CNA Financial by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,051 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

CNA Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of CNA Financial stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $48.38. 289,363 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 326,700. The firm has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.53. The stock's fifty day moving average is $48.44 and its 200 day moving average is $48.63. CNA Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $42.85 and a 1 year high of $52.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.13). CNA Financial had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company had revenue of $3.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. CNA Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.27%.

Insider Transactions at CNA Financial

In other CNA Financial news, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Dino Robusto bought 3,896 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $47.63 per share, for a total transaction of $185,566.48. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 724,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,500,218.94. This represents a 0.54 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 31,741 shares of company stock valued at $1,559,401. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.