Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Invests $2 Million in Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 16,939 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,000,000. Cincinnati Financial makes up about 1.9% of Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 4.3% during the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,297 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co grew its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 2,009 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Cincinnati Financial by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,147 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 0.5% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 27,624 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,430,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on CINF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Cincinnati Financial from $151.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Citigroup upgraded Cincinnati Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $126.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.57.

Cincinnati Financial Price Performance

Shares of CINF opened at $135.77 on Friday. Cincinnati Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $96.86 and a 1-year high of $139.34. The company has a market cap of $21.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. Cincinnati Financial had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Cincinnati Financial Co. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cincinnati Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Cincinnati Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.56%.

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.