Legal & General Group Plc Buys New Position in CNA Financial Corporation $CNA

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $561,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CNA Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $80,193,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 34.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,101,092 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $96,482,000 after purchasing an additional 540,448 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in CNA Financial by 409.1% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 604,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,107,000 after purchasing an additional 486,127 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in CNA Financial by 1,509,521.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 483,079 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,062,000 after purchasing an additional 483,047 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in CNA Financial by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,784,682 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $132,941,000 after purchasing an additional 354,076 shares in the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CNA Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNA opened at $47.83 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51, a P/E/G ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 0.27. CNA Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $41.53 and a 1-year high of $55.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. CNA Financial had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 11.34%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNA Financial

In other CNA Financial news, CAO Daniel Franzetti sold 22,656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total transaction of $1,202,807.04. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 68,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,611,818.88. This trade represents a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark James sold 8,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.15, for a total value of $439,709.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,446 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,604.90. The trade was a 23.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised CNA Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research raised CNA Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

CNA Financial Profile

CNA Financial Corporation is a leading U.S.-based commercial property and casualty insurance company offering a broad portfolio of risk management and insurance solutions. The company underwrites coverage for businesses of all sizes across a variety of industry sectors, including manufacturing, healthcare, energy, technology, construction and real estate. In addition to core property and casualty insurance, CNA delivers specialized products such as surety bonds, professional liability, environmental liability and commercial auto coverage.

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, CNA traces its origins to the founding of Continental Casualty Company in 1897.