Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,647,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 426,328 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of CNO Financial Group worth $494,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CNO. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 90.1% during the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 353.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 123.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

CNO opened at $45.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The business’s 50-day moving average is $41.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.71. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.24 and a 1 year high of $45.99.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.27. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 17.65%. The business had revenue of $101.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CNO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Evercore reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.50.

Insider Activity

In other CNO Financial Group news, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 11,060 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.97, for a total value of $442,068.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 214,524 shares in the company, valued at $8,574,524.28. This trade represents a 4.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 43,021 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total transaction of $1,852,054.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 277,526 shares in the company, valued at $11,947,494.30. This represents a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 196,778 shares of company stock worth $8,442,863. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.