The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires New Position in CNA Financial Corporation $CNA

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 28,966 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,408,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,972 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in CNA Financial by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in CNA Financial by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 2,275 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Portfolio Management LLC grew its holdings in CNA Financial by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Portfolio Management LLC now owns 39,980 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Price Performance

Shares of CNA Financial stock opened at $49.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.31 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 0.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. CNA Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $41.53 and a 12-month high of $55.71.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.11. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 8.16%.The company had revenue of $3.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 42.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on CNA shares. Zacks Research raised shares of CNA Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Daniel Franzetti sold 22,656 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total transaction of $1,202,807.04. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 68,032 shares in the company, valued at $3,611,818.88. This trade represents a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark James sold 8,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.15, for a total value of $439,709.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,405,604.90. This represents a 23.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Profile

CNA Financial Corporation is a leading U.S.-based commercial property and casualty insurance company offering a broad portfolio of risk management and insurance solutions. The company underwrites coverage for businesses of all sizes across a variety of industry sectors, including manufacturing, healthcare, energy, technology, construction and real estate. In addition to core property and casualty insurance, CNA delivers specialized products such as surety bonds, professional liability, environmental liability and commercial auto coverage.

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, CNA traces its origins to the founding of Continental Casualty Company in 1897.