Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Stake in Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its position in Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,474 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 272 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Cincinnati Financial were worth $1,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,562 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 8,069 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 17,473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,511,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,819 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CINF. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Cincinnati Financial from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Cincinnati Financial from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.00.

Cincinnati Financial Stock Performance

Shares of CINF opened at $145.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.80 billion, a PE ratio of 10.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $139.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.41. Cincinnati Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $109.93 and a 12-month high of $161.75.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $3.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $1.24. Cincinnati Financial had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 20.22%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cincinnati Financial Co. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cincinnati Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. This is an increase from Cincinnati Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Cincinnati Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.97%.

Cincinnati Financial Company Profile

Cincinnati Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides property casualty insurance products in the United States. It operates through five segments: Commercial Lines Insurance, Personal Lines Insurance, Excess and Surplus Lines Insurance, Life Insurance, and Investments. The Commercial Lines Insurance segment offers coverage for commercial casualty, commercial property, commercial auto, and workers' compensation.