KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $12.20 Million in Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 84,524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,204,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,006,254 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $863,099,000 after acquiring an additional 224,033 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,332,689 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $191,507,000 after acquiring an additional 8,736 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings 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 worth $148,013,000 after purchasing an additional 27,301 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings 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 worth $114,354,000 after purchasing an additional 18,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 13.1% in 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. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CINF. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Cincinnati Financial from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Cincinnati Financial from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cincinnati Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.00.

Cincinnati Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Cincinnati Financial stock opened at $145.62 on Monday. 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 52 week low of $109.93 and a 52 week high of $161.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $139.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.80 billion, a PE ratio of 10.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Cincinnati Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. This is a boost from Cincinnati Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Cincinnati Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.97%.

About Cincinnati Financial

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.