Private Advisory Group LLC Takes $7.86 Million Position in CNA Financial Corporation $CNA

Private Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 161,642 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,857,000. Private Advisory Group LLC owned 0.06% of CNA Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CNA. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in CNA Financial by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,972 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in CNA Financial by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $184,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in CNA Financial by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in CNA Financial by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 2,275 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Portfolio Management LLC raised its holdings in CNA Financial by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Portfolio Management LLC now owns 39,980 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CNA Financial

In other news, EVP Mark Steven James sold 8,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.15, for a total transaction of $439,709.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 26,446 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,604.90. This trade represents a 23.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 22,656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total transaction of $1,202,807.04. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 68,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,611,818.88. This represents a 24.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of CNA stock opened at $50.99 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $49.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $13.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21, a PEG ratio of 6.89 and a beta of 0.28. CNA Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $41.53 and a twelve month high of $55.71.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.11. CNA Financial had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 11.34%. The firm had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 42.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CNA Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research upgraded CNA Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CNA Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

CNA Financial 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.