CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) Shares Bought by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 11.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 44,657 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,424 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $2,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CNA. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in CNA Financial by 366.7% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,401,539 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $68,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101,217 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 97.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,152,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $51,760,000 after buying an additional 570,172 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in CNA Financial by 45.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,068,956 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,247,000 after acquiring an additional 334,463 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,012,492 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,551,000 after acquiring an additional 5,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in CNA Financial by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 706,279 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,079,000 after acquiring an additional 7,201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNA Financial

In related news, EVP Douglas Worman sold 22,973 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 133,777 shares in the company, valued at $6,521,628.75. This trade represents a 14.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Steven James sold 18,547 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 22,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,159,141.86. The trade was a 44.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CNA Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE CNA opened at $50.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. CNA Financial Co. has a one year low of $40.92 and a one year high of $52.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.66 billion, a PE ratio of 10.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 0.65.

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

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.