Prudential Financial Inc. Increases Stock Position in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA - Free Report) by 250.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,137 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 32,270 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $2,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the fourth quarter worth $74,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of CNA Financial by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 10,454 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 4,350 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 22,710 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 14,382 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 57,605 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,786,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. 98.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on CNA shares. StockNews.com lowered CNA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on CNA Financial from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Transactions at CNA Financial

In related news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 718,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,665,573.28. This trade represents a 0.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.06, for a total value of $637,338.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 75,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,709,524.72. This represents a 14.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,491 shares of company stock valued at $1,261,838 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CNA Financial Trading Up 1.2 %

CNA stock traded up $0.54 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $45.64. The company had a trading volume of 474,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 314,127. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. CNA Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $42.33 and a 52 week high of $52.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $48.88 and a 200 day moving average of $48.77. The company has a market cap of $12.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.47.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.14. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 6.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

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