Barclays PLC Purchases 16,377 Shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA - Free Report) by 108.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,444 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,377 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC's holdings in CNA Financial were worth $1,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in CNA Financial by 786.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 153,669 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,080,000 after acquiring an additional 136,334 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the second quarter worth $368,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 20.3% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,703 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in CNA Financial by 12.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 10,355 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in CNA Financial by 178.9% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 76,136 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,505,000 after purchasing an additional 48,837 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.45% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Douglas Worman sold 22,973 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.75, for a total value of $1,119,933.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 133,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,521,628.75. This represents a 14.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CNA. StockNews.com raised shares of CNA Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America upped their price target on CNA Financial from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on CNA Financial from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday.

CNA Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

CNA traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $46.34. The stock had a trading volume of 85,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 213,592. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65, a P/E/G ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.67. CNA Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $42.06 and a 52 week high of $52.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $48.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.76.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.01. CNA Financial had a net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.68 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. CNA Financial's payout ratio is presently 36.67%.

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.