First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 249,346 Shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA - Free Report) by 20.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,486,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 249,346 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.55% of CNA Financial worth $71,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNA. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CNA Financial by 663.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in CNA Financial by 28.3% in 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. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in CNA Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $74,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in CNA Financial by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,051 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective 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 lowered shares of CNA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chairman now owns 720,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,200,796.12. The trade was a 0.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.06, for a total transaction of $637,338.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 75,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,709,524.72. This represents a 14.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,491 shares of company stock valued at $1,261,838 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CNA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNA traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $47.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 389,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,202. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.71. CNA Financial Co. has a one year low of $42.33 and a one year high of $52.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.47.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.14. CNA Financial had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 12.90%. On average, research analysts forecast that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. This is a positive change from CNA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. CNA Financial's payout ratio is 52.27%.

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.