Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 314,876 Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,073,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 314,876 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.46% of CNO Financial Group worth $477,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CNO. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 6.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,121,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,429,000 after purchasing an additional 183,493 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 882,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,903,000 after acquiring an additional 91,417 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 32.6% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 764,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,509,000 after acquiring an additional 187,974 shares during the last quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 14.0% in the second quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 639,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,689,000 after acquiring an additional 78,793 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 1.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 607,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,443,000 after acquiring an additional 8,686 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In other news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 45,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.17, for a total transaction of $1,958,061.69. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 320,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,838,013.99. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 9,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were 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 directly owned 73,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,149,503.20. This trade represents a 11.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 226,431 shares of company stock worth $9,715,996 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CNO Financial Group stock opened at $42.34 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.79. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.63 and a 52 week high of $44.85.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.27. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 4.94%.The company had revenue of $101.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 30.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNO has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Evercore reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.25.

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.