Prudential Financial Inc. Cuts Stake in Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 92,899 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,619 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Cincinnati Financial were worth $13,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,562 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 17,473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,511,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Cincinnati Financial by 1.4% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,819 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC increased its position in Cincinnati Financial by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 4,167 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 14,942 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CINF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Cincinnati Financial from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.20.

Cincinnati Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CINF opened at $147.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.29. Cincinnati Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $109.93 and a fifty-two week high of $161.75. The stock has a market cap of $23.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $140.48 and a 200-day moving average of $142.64.

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

Cincinnati Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 24th. This is a boost from Cincinnati Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Cincinnati Financial’s dividend 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.