Barclays PLC Increases Stock Position in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 108.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,377 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $1,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of CNA Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in CNA Financial in the second quarter worth $55,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its position in CNA Financial by 17.3% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,059 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in CNA Financial in the third quarter worth $146,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 26.6% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,449 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 725 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Douglas Worman sold 22,973 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.75, for a total transaction of $1,119,933.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 133,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,521,628.75. The trade was a 14.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of CNA Financial from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CNA Financial from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th.

CNA Financial Stock Down 3.7 %

NYSE:CNA opened at $45.78 on Monday. CNA Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $52.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.54, a P/E/G ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.76.

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

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.67%.

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.