HighTower Advisors LLC Has $3.08 Million Position in CNA Financial Corporation $CNA

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in CNA Financial Corporation by 97.5%, owning 60,640 shares worth approximately $3.08 million after purchasing additional shares in the first quarter.
• CNA Financial reported a Q2 EPS of $1.23, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.94, with revenue hitting $3.37 billion against estimates of $2.76 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, which equates to an annualized dividend yield of 3.7%.

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA - Free Report) by 97.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,640 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,933 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in CNA Financial were worth $3,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CNA. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,053 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,937,000 after acquiring an additional 8,609 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 16,213 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $784,000 after acquiring an additional 2,202 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 18,207 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 12,447 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $602,000 after acquiring an additional 6,784 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank lifted 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 acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.45% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CNA Financial news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.63, for a total value of $297,687.50. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 705,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,607,156.44. This represents a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CNA Financial Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of CNA traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $49.35. 373,054 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 493,289. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. CNA Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $43.29 and a 1-year high of $52.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.92 and a 200-day moving average of $47.38.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.29. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 5.99%.The firm had revenue of $3.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Analysts expect that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. CNA Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.32%.

CNA Financial Company 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.