Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,056,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 126,505 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.90% of CNO Financial Group worth $392,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 157,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,384,000 after acquiring an additional 47,762 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 26,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 8,018 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $521,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $721,000. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CNO stock opened at $27.55 on Friday. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.27 and a fifty-two week high of $29.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.18. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.19.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.12). CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.77% and a net margin of 9.07%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $935.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. CNO Financial Group’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is a positive change from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 18.66%.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In related news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total value of $551,662.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 293,802 shares in the company, valued at $8,023,732.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total value of $551,662.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 293,802 shares in the company, valued at $8,023,732.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Yvonne K. Franzese sold 15,021 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total value of $424,343.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $893,010.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 60,065 shares of company stock worth $1,675,109. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

About CNO Financial Group

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.