First Trust Advisors LP Grows Position in CNA Financial Corporation $CNA

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) by 15.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,183,892 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 156,077 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $55,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management lifted its position in CNA Financial by 70.0% in the third quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 556 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of CNA Financial by 6.8% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $184,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 19,268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 28.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 7,787 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNA Financial

In related news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.62, for a total value of $297,625.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 661,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,516,725.56. This trade represents a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:CNA opened at $46.94 on Thursday. CNA Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $43.29 and a 12-month high of $51.34. The firm has a market cap of $12.70 billion, a PE ratio of 10.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.96 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.96.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.88 billion. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 8.53%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of $2.00 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 409.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNA has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Wall Street Zen cut CNA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded CNA Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About CNA Financial

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.