Sei Investments Co. Grows Position in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Sei Investments Co. raised its position in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 13.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 388,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 46,308 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.42% of CNO Financial Group worth $15,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $371,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $436,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 196,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,071,000 after buying an additional 6,818 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on CNO shares. Evercore set a $48.00 price target on CNO Financial Group and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CNO Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.50.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

CNO Financial Group stock opened at $53.52 on Friday. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.24 and a fifty-two week high of $54.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $999.45 million. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 17.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.92%.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In other CNO Financial Group news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $287,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 79,191 shares in the company, valued at $3,959,550. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total transaction of $4,429,751.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 174,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,971,110.72. This trade represents a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,106 shares of company stock valued at $4,879,343. 3.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CNO Financial Group Company 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.