Insider Selling: CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Insider Sells $222,203.80 in Stock

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) insider Jeanne Linnenbringer sold 4,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.73, for a total transaction of $222,203.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,128 shares in the company, valued at $1,648,905.44. This represents a 11.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

CNO stock opened at $56.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The company’s 50-day moving average is $53.85 and its 200-day moving average is $47.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47 and a beta of 0.80. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.22 and a 1 year high of $57.59.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.29. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 6.02%.The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $999.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 4.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CNO. Capital One Financial set a $70.00 price target on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore set a $48.00 price target on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 39.2% in the second 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 last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 19,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $797,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 36,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 90,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,856,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

About CNO Financial Group

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.