CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 422 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in CNO Financial Group were worth $290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 58.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 24,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 9,096 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $903,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,899,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,676,000 after acquiring an additional 107,589 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CNO. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on CNO Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $46.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.50.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

CNO stock opened at $40.73 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 1.02. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.92 and a 12-month high of $42.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.64.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.25. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.20% and a net margin of 9.08%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.11%.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In other CNO Financial Group news, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 25,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.11, for a total value of $1,022,805.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 169,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,792,307.62. This trade represents a 13.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total value of $1,636,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 204,143 shares in the company, valued at $8,186,134.30. This represents a 16.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 132,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,372,187. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Company Profile

CNO Financial Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops, markets, and administers health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, insurance products, and financial services for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. It offers Medicare supplement, supplemental health, and long-term care insurance policies; life insurance; and annuities, as well as Medicare advantage plans to individuals through phone, online, mail, and face-to-face.