Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 34,810 Shares of Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,415,742 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,810 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.91% of Cincinnati Financial worth $203,438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,167,705 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,754,399,000 after purchasing an additional 173,417 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Cincinnati Financial by 3.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,930,022 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $563,323,000 after acquiring an additional 185,705 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cincinnati Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $223,959,000. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Cincinnati Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CINF opened at $132.95 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $20.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.16, a PEG ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 0.53. Cincinnati Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $109.93 and a fifty-two week high of $161.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $139.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.49.

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

Cincinnati Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. This is a boost from Cincinnati Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 24th. Cincinnati Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on CINF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Cincinnati Financial from $182.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cincinnati Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.40.

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.