American Century Companies Inc. Trims Stock Position in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its stake in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,115 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 8,544 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of CNA Financial worth $7,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,177,110 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $56,937,000 after buying an additional 468,058 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in CNA Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $13,129,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 158.0% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 288,443 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $14,116,000 after purchasing an additional 176,649 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 276.3% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 82,893 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,010,000 after purchasing an additional 60,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of CNA Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,533,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CNA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of CNA Financial from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut CNA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.06, for a total transaction of $637,338.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 75,612 shares in the company, valued at $3,709,524.72. This represents a 14.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total transaction of $319,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 718,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,665,573.28. This trade represents a 0.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,491 shares of company stock valued at $1,261,838. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CNA Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of CNA Financial stock traded up $0.54 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 474,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 314,127. CNA Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $42.33 and a 52 week high of $52.36. The company has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.14. CNA Financial had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 12.90%. Equities research analysts predict that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. This is an increase from CNA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. CNA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.27%.

CNA Financial Profile

CNA Financial Corporation provides commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States and internationally. It operates through Specialty, Commercial, International, Life & Group, and Corporate & Other segments. The company offers professional liability coverages and risk management services to various professional firms, including architects, real estate agents, and accounting and law firms; directors and officers, employment practices, fiduciary, and fidelity and cyber coverages to small and mid-size firms, public and privately held firms, and not-for-profit organizations; professional and general liability, as well as associated casualty coverages for healthcare industry; surety and fidelity bonds; and warranty and alternative risks products.