Captrust Financial Advisors Buys Shares of 5,778 CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,778 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in CNA Financial by 366.7% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,401,539 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $68,591,000 after buying an additional 1,101,217 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 97.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,152,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $51,760,000 after purchasing an additional 570,172 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 570.6% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 529,862 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $24,411,000 after purchasing an additional 450,843 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in CNA Financial by 45.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,068,956 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,247,000 after purchasing an additional 334,463 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in CNA Financial by 786.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 153,669 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,080,000 after purchasing an additional 136,334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of CNA Financial stock opened at $48.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18, a PEG ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $49.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.26. CNA Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $40.92 and a 1-year high of $52.36.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 9.26%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.68 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Mark Steven James sold 18,547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.58, for a total transaction of $938,107.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,159,141.86. This represents a 44.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Douglas Worman sold 22,973 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.75, for a total transaction of $1,119,933.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 133,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,521,628.75. The trade was a 14.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CNA. Bank of America upped their price target on CNA Financial from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of CNA Financial from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

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.