Insider Selling: CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Insider Sells $388,530.00 in Stock

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) insider Yvonne Franzese sold 9,000 shares of CNO Financial Group 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 $388,530.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,062 shares in the company, valued at $1,513,626.54. This trade represents a 20.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

CNO stock opened at $43.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $42.61 and its 200 day moving average is $40.65. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.63 and a 52 week high of $44.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.17.

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

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CNO. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in CNO Financial Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,302,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $170,157,000 after buying an additional 42,467 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,239,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,140,000 after acquiring an additional 118,417 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,870,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,461,000 after acquiring an additional 317,690 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,218,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,730,000 after acquiring an additional 319,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 882,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,903,000 after purchasing an additional 91,417 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CNO shares. Wall Street Zen lowered CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.