Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Reduces Position in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lowered its holdings in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 5.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,115,375 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 64,622 shares during the period. CNA Financial comprises 1.3% of Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned 0.41% of CNA Financial worth $51,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CNA. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,703 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in CNA Financial in the second quarter valued at $368,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 786.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 153,669 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,080,000 after acquiring an additional 136,334 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in CNA Financial by 75,123.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 15,797 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 15,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of CNA Financial by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,926 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $872,000 after purchasing an additional 2,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of CNA Financial from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

CNA Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNA opened at $50.23 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $13.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.65. CNA Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $37.95 and a twelve month high of $52.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.05.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. CNA Financial had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 14.02%. The firm had revenue of $3.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jane Elizabeth Possell sold 4,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $213,667.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,442,832.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other CNA Financial news, EVP Elizabeth Ann Aguinaga sold 26,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.60, for a total transaction of $1,297,536.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,368,102.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jane Elizabeth Possell sold 4,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $213,667.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 30,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,442,832.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.