CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO Holdings Cut by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 82.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 74,234 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in CNO Financial Group were worth $612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CNO. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in CNO Financial Group by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 8.1% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 12.6% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 2.4% during the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 21,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $810,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 8.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on CNO shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on CNO Financial Group from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.75.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In related news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 9,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total transaction of $395,455.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 73,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,149,503.20. This trade represents a 11.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CIO Eric R. Johnson sold 48,665 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.24, for a total transaction of $2,006,944.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive owned 671,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,694,392.08. This trade represents a 6.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 89,378 shares of company stock valued at $3,722,146 over the last 90 days. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:CNO opened at $41.47 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.80 and a 200-day moving average of $39.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.85. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.63 and a twelve month high of $44.19.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $975.35 million. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 6.64%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 23.78%.

CNO Financial Group Profile

CNO Financial Group is an Indiana?based holding company that offers a range of insurance and retirement solutions through its operating subsidiaries. Its primary business activities include life insurance, annuities, and supplemental health insurance products designed to help individuals plan for retirement and manage health?related expenses. The company serves middle?income Americans, with particular emphasis on senior customers seeking guaranteed coverage and reliable income streams.

Originally founded as Conseco in 1979, the company underwent a financial restructuring and rebranded as CNO Financial Group in 2010.