Bank of America Corp DE Sells 25,869 Shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Bank of America Corp DE cut its holdings in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA - Free Report) by 39.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,323 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 25,869 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE's holdings in CNA Financial were worth $1,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 9,139 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in CNA Financial by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,703 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in CNA Financial by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 12,856 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in CNA Financial by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,475 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CNA shares. Wall Street Zen lowered CNA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on 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.

CNA Financial Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of CNA Financial stock traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $46.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 327,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 321,423. CNA Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $42.85 and a 12 month high of $52.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $48.01 and a 200 day moving average of $48.54. The company has a market capitalization of $12.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick 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 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 the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. Analysts predict that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. CNA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.61, for a total value of $297,562.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 711,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,890,607.18. This represents a 0.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Steven James sold 5,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.35, for a total value of $242,475.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,308,302.65. The trade was a 15.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,006 shares of company stock valued at $2,099,564 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.