Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 41,932 Shares of Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF - Free Report) by 38.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 150,515 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 41,932 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.10% of Cincinnati Financial worth $21,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cincinnati Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $223,959,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,006,254 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $863,099,000 after buying an additional 224,033 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,167,705 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,754,399,000 after buying an additional 173,417 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 668,341 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $96,041,000 after buying an additional 167,898 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 445,337 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $60,619,000 after acquiring an additional 147,542 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.24% of the company's stock.

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Cincinnati Financial Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of CINF stock traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $131.09. The stock had a trading volume of 841,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 674,760. Cincinnati Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $109.93 and a 12-month high of $161.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm's 50-day moving average is $140.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 0.53.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $3.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $1.24. Cincinnati Financial had a net margin of 20.22% and a return on equity of 9.01%. On average, analysts predict that Cincinnati Financial Co. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cincinnati Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. This is an increase from Cincinnati Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Cincinnati Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on CINF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Cincinnati Financial from $182.00 to $148.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cincinnati Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cincinnati Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.40.

About Cincinnati Financial

Cincinnati Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides property casualty insurance products in the United States. It operates through five segments: Commercial Lines Insurance, Personal Lines Insurance, Excess and Surplus Lines Insurance, Life Insurance, and Investments. The Commercial Lines Insurance segment offers coverage for commercial casualty, commercial property, commercial auto, and workers' compensation.