Bank of Montreal Can Has $492,000 Position in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Bank of Montreal Can cut its position in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,181 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,204 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 663.4% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in CNA Financial by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in CNA Financial by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,475 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in CNA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $74,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in CNA Financial by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,051 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $305,375.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 720,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,200,796.12. This represents a 0.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.06, for a total value of $637,338.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 75,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,709,524.72. The trade was a 14.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,491 shares of company stock valued at $1,261,838. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CNA opened at $46.74 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.71. The company has a market capitalization of $12.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. CNA Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $42.33 and a 52-week high of $52.36.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.14. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 6.72%. Sell-side analysts forecast that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from CNA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CNA. StockNews.com cut CNA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on CNA Financial from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

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.