Welch Group LLC Decreases Stake in Cincinnati Financial Corporation $CINF

Welch Group LLC reduced its stake in Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CINF) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 399,079 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,156 shares during the period. Cincinnati Financial accounts for about 2.5% of Welch Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Cincinnati Financial were worth $65,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Cincinnati Financial by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,906 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC increased its stake in Cincinnati Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 22,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,576,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. State of Wyoming increased its stake in Cincinnati Financial by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,315 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Natural Investments LLC increased its stake in Cincinnati Financial by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 3,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 0.5% during the third quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 15,339 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,455,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. 65.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cincinnati Financial Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ CINF opened at $163.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cincinnati Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $126.45 and a twelve month high of $174.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.77, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $162.58 and its 200 day moving average is $162.21.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The insurance provider reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.51. Cincinnati Financial had a return on equity of 8.45% and a net margin of 18.94%.The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Cincinnati Financial Corporation will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cincinnati Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 24th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a boost from Cincinnati Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 24th. Cincinnati Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CINF shares. Weiss Ratings cut Cincinnati Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Cincinnati Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Cincinnati Financial from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Cincinnati Financial from $191.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Cincinnati Financial from $178.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.75.

Cincinnati Financial Company Profile

Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: CINF) is an insurance holding company headquartered in the Cincinnati area of Ohio that provides property and casualty insurance products and related services. Founded as part of the Cincinnati Insurance group, the company operates through a set of insurance subsidiaries to underwrite and service policies for both personal and commercial customers. Cincinnati Financial is publicly traded and emphasizes underwriting discipline and long-term relationships with its distribution partners and policyholders.

The company’s core business centers on property and casualty insurance, including homeowners, automobile, commercial casualty, commercial multi-peril, and specialty commercial coverages.