Ballast Inc. Sells 100 Shares of Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF)

Ballast Inc. reduced its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,805 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Cincinnati Financial were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Cincinnati Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Cincinnati Financial in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its position in Cincinnati Financial by 93.1% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 309 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cincinnati Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Comerica Bank bought a new stake in Cincinnati Financial in the second quarter worth about $350,000. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CINF has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Cincinnati Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Cincinnati Financial in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Cincinnati Financial from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cincinnati Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.71.

Cincinnati Financial Price Performance

CINF opened at $124.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $113.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.84. The company has a market capitalization of $19.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.62. Cincinnati Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $95.01 and a twelve month high of $124.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The insurance provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. Cincinnati Financial had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 8.56%. Cincinnati Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Cincinnati Financial Co. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Cincinnati Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 18th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. This is a boost from Cincinnati Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Cincinnati Financial’s payout ratio is currently 27.76%.

Cincinnati Financial Company Profile

Cincinnati Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides property casualty insurance products in the United States. It operates through five segments: Commercial Lines Insurance, Personal Lines Insurance, Excess and Surplus Lines Insurance, Life Insurance, and Investments. The Commercial Lines Insurance segment offers coverage for commercial casualty, commercial property, commercial auto, and workers' compensation.