Northern Trust Corp Increases Stock Holdings in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA - Free Report) by 25.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 265,926 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 53,792 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.10% of CNA Financial worth $12,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in CNA Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $1,065,000. Burney Co. boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 13,409 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 2,117 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in CNA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in CNA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Finally, Uncommon Cents Investing LLC raised its position in CNA Financial by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 24,880 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 1,515 shares in the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 75,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,709,524.72. The trade was a 14.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total transaction of $305,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 720,442 shares in the company, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 31,741 shares of company stock valued at $1,559,401. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CNA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target 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 downgraded CNA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th.

CNA Financial Stock Performance

NYSE CNA traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $47.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 89,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 326,102. 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 company has a market cap of $12.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.53. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $48.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.61. CNA Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $42.85 and a 12 month high of $52.36.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.03 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. CNA Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.10%.

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.