CNA Financial Corporation $CNA Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) by 33.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,027,815 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 527,973 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $47,824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in CNA Financial by 12.4% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,164 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 556,695 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,275,000 after buying an additional 11,019 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 210.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 862,690 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,816,000 after buying an additional 585,076 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $158,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $467,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.92, for a total transaction of $293,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 668,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,346,688.96. This represents a 0.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,750 shares of company stock worth $865,313. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CNA Financial in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $53.00.

CNA Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNA opened at $44.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $11.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.19. CNA Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $43.29 and a 1-year high of $51.34.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. CNA Financial had a net margin of 6.71% and a return on equity of 12.78%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. CNA Financial’s payout ratio is presently 50.41%.

About CNA Financial

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.