Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Raises Holdings in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA - Free Report) by 137.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,652 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,265 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in CNA Financial were worth $1,192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CNA Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in CNA Financial by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,475 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in CNA Financial by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,051 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in CNA Financial during the third quarter worth $146,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in CNA Financial by 26.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,449 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares during the period. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

CNA Financial Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE CNA traded up $0.81 on Monday, reaching $49.78. The stock had a trading volume of 361,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 321,052. CNA Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $42.33 and a 12-month high of $52.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, a P/E/G ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from CNA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. CNA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.