CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) Shares Sold by WBI Investments LLC

WBI Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 70.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 52,448 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. CENTRAL TRUST Co acquired a new stake in CNA Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in CNA Financial during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in CNA Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in CNA Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in CNA Financial by 36.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,903 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CNA Financial Price Performance

Shares of CNA Financial stock traded down $0.21 during trading on Thursday, hitting $44.38. The stock had a trading volume of 67,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 214,882. The business has a fifty day moving average of $44.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.33. The firm has a market cap of $12.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.73, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.63. CNA Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $36.41 and a fifty-two week high of $47.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 14.27% and a net margin of 9.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This is a positive change from CNA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CNA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on CNA Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America downgraded CNA Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $39.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th.

Insider Transactions at CNA Financial

In other CNA Financial news, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 23,301 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.78, for a total transaction of $1,043,418.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 63,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,865,740.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.