Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 24,449 Shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 322,473 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 24,449 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 0.12% of CNA Financial worth $15,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 worth $56,937,000 after acquiring an additional 468,058 shares during the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. raised its holdings in CNA Financial by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 661,532 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,998,000 after purchasing an additional 11,597 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in CNA Financial by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 363,389 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $17,577,000 after purchasing an additional 97,180 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,859,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CNA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $13,129,000. 98.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CNA shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CNA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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 for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

CNA Financial Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CNA traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $47.10. The company had a trading volume of 28,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 321,869. 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 Co. has a one year low of $42.33 and a one year high of $52.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.71. The company has a market capitalization of $12.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from CNA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. CNA Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNA Financial

In related news, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,709,524.72. The trade was a 14.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total transaction of $319,125.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 718,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,665,573.28. This represents a 0.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,491 shares of company stock worth $1,261,838. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CNA Financial 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.