CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Grows Position in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA - Free Report) by 119.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,447 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,784 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co's holdings in CNA Financial were worth $602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 49.1% during the fourth quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 3,339 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 49,565 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,397,000 after purchasing an additional 4,908 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 18,207 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 16,213 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $784,000 after buying an additional 2,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in CNA Financial by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,053 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,937,000 after buying an additional 8,609 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.45% of the company's stock.

CNA Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

CNA stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $48.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 50,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 325,531. The company has a market cap of $13.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72, a P/E/G ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.47. The firm's 50-day moving average is $48.46 and its 200-day moving average is $48.65. CNA Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $42.33 and a 12 month high of $52.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $3.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CNA shares. StockNews.com cut CNA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of 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.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of CNA Financial 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $305,375.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 720,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,200,796.12. This trade represents a 0.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,741 shares of company stock valued at $1,559,401 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CNA Financial 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.