Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,132 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CINF. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 534,361 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $72,736,000 after purchasing an additional 61,801 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Cincinnati Financial by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 108,583 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $14,863,000 after purchasing an additional 36,650 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Cincinnati Financial by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 191,149 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,019,000 after purchasing an additional 5,097 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Cincinnati Financial by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 12,465 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,787,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Cincinnati Financial by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,298 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cincinnati Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $182.00 to $148.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cincinnati Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.40.

Cincinnati Financial Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:CINF traded down $2.26 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $146.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 515,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 665,853. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.29. Cincinnati Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $111.92 and a fifty-two week high of $161.75. The company has a market capitalization of $22.87 billion, a PE ratio of 10.08, a P/E/G ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $139.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.93.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The insurance provider reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.61) by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Cincinnati Financial had a net margin of 20.22% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The company's revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Cincinnati Financial Co. will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cincinnati Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Cincinnati Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.95%.

Cincinnati Financial Company 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.