CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO Stake Increased by UBS Group AG

UBS Group AG grew its holdings in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 25.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,494 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.15% of CNO Financial Group worth $6,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the third quarter worth $1,077,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the third quarter worth $1,469,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the third quarter worth $3,057,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the third quarter worth $8,018,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 11.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 882,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,903,000 after acquiring an additional 91,417 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CNO Financial Group news, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 11,060 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.97, for a total transaction of $442,068.20. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE CNO opened at $46.88 on Wednesday. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.24 and a fifty-two week high of $47.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.19. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 0.82.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 27.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 20th. Three 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.50.

CNO Financial Group Profile

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.