CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) Shares Acquired by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA - Free Report) by 66.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,012 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 39,799 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in CNA Financial were worth $4,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CNA. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 66.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,177,110 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $56,937,000 after buying an additional 468,058 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CNA Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $255,000. Torray Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in CNA Financial by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 91,920 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,446,000 after acquiring an additional 19,758 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in CNA Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $819,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in CNA Financial by 250.8% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 45,137 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,211,000 after purchasing an additional 32,270 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Dino Robusto bought 3,896 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $47.63 per share, for a total transaction of $185,566.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 724,338 shares in the company, valued at $34,500,218.94. This trade represents a 0.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.06, for a total value of $637,338.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 75,612 shares in the company, valued at $3,709,524.72. This represents a 14.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 36,756 shares of company stock worth $1,801,876. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CNA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a 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 Price Performance

NYSE CNA traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $47.66. The stock had a trading volume of 59,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 325,925. The firm's 50 day moving average is $48.21 and its 200 day moving average is $48.55. CNA Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $42.85 and a twelve month high of $52.36. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $12.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a PEG ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.53.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $3.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 6.72%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. CNA Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.