River Road Asset Management LLC Has $44.27 Million Stock Holdings in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

River Road Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,046,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 10,805 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $44,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Loews Corp boosted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Loews Corp now owns 248,414,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,775,120,000 after acquiring an additional 4,456,050 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CNA Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $14,273,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 174.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 466,973 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $18,161,000 after acquiring an additional 297,030 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,653,694 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $80,403,000 after acquiring an additional 104,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CNA Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,464,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Trading Down 1.0 %

CNA traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.81. 160,323 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 220,127. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.64. CNA Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $36.41 and a 1-year high of $47.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $44.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.23. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 9.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CNA Financial Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $2.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from CNA Financial’s previous None dividend of $1.62. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CNA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on CNA Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded CNA Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th.

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.