Candriam S.C.A. Acquires 5,560 Shares of Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF)

Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) by 72.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,212 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,560 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Cincinnati Financial were worth $1,899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Cincinnati Financial by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,006,254 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $863,099,000 after buying an additional 224,033 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Cincinnati Financial by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,030,017 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $148,013,000 after buying an additional 27,301 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in Cincinnati Financial by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 795,780 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $114,354,000 after buying an additional 18,192 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 13.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 534,361 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $72,736,000 after purchasing an additional 61,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 49.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 445,337 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,619,000 after purchasing an additional 147,542 shares in the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CINF shares. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cincinnati Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.00.

Cincinnati Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

Cincinnati Financial stock opened at $139.96 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.91 billion, a PE ratio of 9.64, a P/E/G ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company’s 50-day moving average is $139.55 and its 200-day moving average is $141.82. Cincinnati Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $109.93 and a fifty-two week high of $161.74.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $3.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $1.24. Cincinnati Financial had a net margin of 20.22% and a return on equity of 9.01%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cincinnati Financial Co. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Cincinnati Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. This is an increase from Cincinnati Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Cincinnati Financial’s payout ratio is currently 23.97%.

Cincinnati Financial 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.