Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 34,659 Shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lessened its position in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 23.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 112,640 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 34,659 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $5,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CNA. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 335.4% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 30,046 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 23,146 shares during the period. Symmetry Partners LLC increased its stake in CNA Financial by 318.3% in the 2nd quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 20,361 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 15,493 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 97.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,152,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $51,760,000 after acquiring an additional 570,172 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,067 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of CNA Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $273,000. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of CNA Financial from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of CNA Financial from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

CNA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNA opened at $49.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a P/E/G ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.91 and its 200 day moving average is $47.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. CNA Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $40.92 and a 1-year high of $52.36.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 9.26%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CNA Financial news, EVP Douglas Worman sold 22,973 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.75, for a total transaction of $1,119,933.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 133,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,521,628.75. This represents a 14.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark Steven James sold 18,547 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.58, for a total value of $938,107.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,159,141.86. This represents a 44.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Company 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.