Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Invests $2.63 Million in CNA Financial Corporation $CNA

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 55,142 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,632,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in CNA Financial by 3.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,435,892 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $112,806,000 after purchasing an additional 80,700 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 15.2% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,183,892 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $55,004,000 after purchasing an additional 156,077 shares in the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 701,884 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,610,000 after purchasing an additional 17,046 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 689,473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,033,000 after purchasing an additional 285,850 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 69.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 656,067 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,481,000 after buying an additional 268,917 shares in the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered CNA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Zacks Research lowered CNA Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded CNA Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CNA Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Insider Transactions at CNA Financial

In other news, SVP Jeffrey John Neuenschwander sold 3,287 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.97, for a total value of $151,103.39. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $334,523.69. The trade was a 31.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.62, for a total value of $297,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 661,838 shares in the company, valued at $31,516,725.56. This trade represents a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Price Performance

CNA stock opened at $45.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $47.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.70. CNA Financial Corporation has a one year low of $43.29 and a one year high of $51.29. The company has a market capitalization of $12.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 0.34.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.88 billion. CNA Financial had a net margin of 8.53% and a return on equity of 12.23%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $2.00 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 409.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 40.94%.

CNA Financial Company 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.