Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Buys 4,350 Shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 71.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,454 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,350 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CNA. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in CNA Financial by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,177,110 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $56,937,000 after acquiring an additional 468,058 shares during the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. grew its stake in CNA Financial by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 661,532 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,998,000 after acquiring an additional 11,597 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in CNA Financial by 158.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 288,443 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,116,000 after purchasing an additional 176,649 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CNA Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $13,129,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of CNA Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $7,585,000. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of CNA Financial from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered CNA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th.

CNA Financial Price Performance

CNA stock opened at $49.83 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.87. CNA Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $42.33 and a 52-week high of $52.36. The company has a market capitalization of $13.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.68.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.14. CNA Financial had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 12.90%. Research analysts expect that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a boost from CNA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.27%.

Insider Transactions at CNA Financial

In other news, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.06, for a total value of $637,338.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 75,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,709,524.72. This trade 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 at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Dino Robusto bought 3,896 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $47.63 per share, for a total transaction of $185,566.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 724,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,500,218.94. This represents a 0.54 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CNA Financial Company 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.