The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes $1.41 Million Position in CNA Financial Corporation $CNA

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 28,966 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,408,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in CNA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CNA Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in CNA Financial in the second quarter valued at about $53,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of CNA Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in CNA Financial by 142.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Daniel Franzetti sold 22,656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total value of $1,202,807.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 68,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,611,818.88. This represents a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark James sold 8,273 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.15, for a total value of $439,709.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 26,446 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,604.90. This trade represents 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.

CNA Financial Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE CNA opened at $49.18 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.79. The stock has a market cap of $13.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 0.27. CNA Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $41.53 and a 52-week high of $55.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $3.83 billion for 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.20%.

CNA Financial Company 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.