Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires 97,180 Shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 36.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 363,389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 97,180 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.13% of CNA Financial worth $17,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CNA. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in CNA Financial by 66.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,177,110 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $56,937,000 after buying an additional 468,058 shares during the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 661,532 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,998,000 after acquiring an additional 11,597 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CNA Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,859,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in CNA Financial by 158.0% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 288,443 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $14,116,000 after purchasing an additional 176,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in CNA Financial in the fourth quarter worth $13,129,000. 98.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of 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 on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 75,612 shares in the company, valued at $3,709,524.72. This trade represents a 14.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Dino Robusto bought 3,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $47.63 per share, for a total transaction of $185,566.48. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 724,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,500,218.94. This represents a 0.54 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,491 shares of company stock worth $1,261,838 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Stock Down 7.4 %

Shares of CNA stock opened at $47.00 on Friday. CNA Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $42.33 and a 12-month high of $52.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $49.15 and a 200-day moving average of $48.87. The company has a market capitalization of $12.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.68.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts predict that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. This is an increase from CNA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. CNA Financial’s dividend 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.