Cincinnati Financial Corporation $CINF Shares Bought by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its stake in Cincinnati Financial by 3.0% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to about 1.51 million shares valued at roughly $238.3 million.
• The stock has drawn continued institutional interest, with several firms adding positions, and 65.24% of Cincinnati Financial is now owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Analysts remain generally positive on CINF, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $192.40; the company also recently beat earnings expectations and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CINF - Free Report) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,514,733 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 44,608 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.98% of Cincinnati Financial worth $238,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cincinnati Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $270,892,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 193.3% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 601,033 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $98,161,000 after purchasing an additional 396,086 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,319,873 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $215,562,000 after buying an additional 367,224 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 48.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 803,665 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $119,682,000 after buying an additional 262,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,692,000. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CINF. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Cincinnati Financial from $178.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $201.00 price target (up from $191.00) on shares of Cincinnati Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Roth Capital upped their price target on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Atlantic Securities set a $197.00 price objective on shares of Cincinnati Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cincinnati Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cincinnati Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.40.

Cincinnati Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Cincinnati Financial stock opened at $179.38 on Friday. Cincinnati Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $143.87 and a 52 week high of $194.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $173.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.45.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The insurance provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.61 billion. Cincinnati Financial had a net margin of 21.33% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.24) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Cincinnati Financial Corporation will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Cincinnati Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Cincinnati Financial's payout ratio is currently 21.50%.

About Cincinnati Financial

Cincinnati Financial Corporation NASDAQ: CINF is an insurance holding company headquartered in the Cincinnati area of Ohio that provides property and casualty insurance products and related services. Founded as part of the Cincinnati Insurance group, the company operates through a set of insurance subsidiaries to underwrite and service policies for both personal and commercial customers. Cincinnati Financial is publicly traded and emphasizes underwriting discipline and long-term relationships with its distribution partners and policyholders.

The company's core business centers on property and casualty insurance, including homeowners, automobile, commercial casualty, commercial multi-peril, and specialty commercial coverages.

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