Insider Selling: CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Insider Sells $515,382.52 in Stock

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) insider Karen DeToro sold 9,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $515,382.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 44,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,432,865. This trade represents a 17.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

CNO Financial Group stock opened at $56.67 on Friday. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.22 and a 52-week high of $57.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $53.85 and its 200 day moving average is $47.83. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47 and a beta of 0.80.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.29. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 18.76%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $999.45 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 4.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 24.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Capital One Financial set a $70.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Evercore set a $48.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded CNO Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 123.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 75.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in CNO Financial Group by 39.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in CNO Financial Group by 72.0% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.