Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 11.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,177 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,228 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $1,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in CNA Financial by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 706,279 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,079,000 after purchasing an additional 7,201 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,141 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,279,000 after acquiring an additional 1,618 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in CNA Financial by 59.2% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 24,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 8,956 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 335.4% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 30,046 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 23,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CNA Financial in the first quarter worth $360,000. 98.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Douglas Worman sold 22,973 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.75, for a total value of $1,119,933.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 133,777 shares in the company, valued at $6,521,628.75. This represents a 14.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark Steven James sold 18,547 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.58, for a total transaction of $938,107.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,159,141.86. This represents a 44.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CNA Financial Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:CNA opened at $49.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. CNA Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $40.92 and a 12 month high of $52.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.80.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 9.26%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on CNA shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on CNA Financial from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com upgraded CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on CNA Financial from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

About CNA Financial

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.