7,427 Shares in Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) Bought by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in shares of Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,427 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,067,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cincinnati Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,959,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Cincinnati Financial by 3.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,930,022 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $563,323,000 after acquiring an additional 185,705 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,167,705 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,754,399,000 after acquiring an additional 173,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 668,341 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $96,041,000 after acquiring an additional 167,898 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CINF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Cincinnati Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $182.00 to $148.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Cincinnati Financial from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cincinnati Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.40.

Cincinnati Financial Stock Performance

Cincinnati Financial stock traded down $3.17 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $129.07. 53,581 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 668,190. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.31. Cincinnati Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $109.93 and a 12 month high of $161.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average of $139.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.63.

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

Cincinnati Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 24th. This is a boost from Cincinnati Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Cincinnati Financial's dividend payout ratio is 23.97%.

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.