State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $2.01 Million Stock Position in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its position in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,736 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned about 0.05% of CNO Financial Group worth $2,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in CNO Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $54,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 53.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the general counsel now owns 204,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,186,134.30. This trade represents a 16.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 1,484 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total value of $56,421.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 79,896 shares in the company, valued at $3,037,645.92. This trade represents a 1.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 87,584 shares of company stock valued at $3,554,089. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE CNO opened at $39.81 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 1.04. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.92 and a 52-week high of $42.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.77.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.25. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 9.08% and a return on equity of 17.20%. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is 17.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.