Rocco Tarasi III Sells 5,750 Shares of CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Stock

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) CMO Rocco 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 sale, the chief marketing officer owned 79,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,959,550. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

CNO opened at $50.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21 and a beta of 0.81. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.07. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.24 and a 1-year high of $50.71.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 28.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNO. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $18,297,000. Jain Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $17,996,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 190.3% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 579,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,925,000 after purchasing an additional 379,984 shares during the last quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 384.9% during the third quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 438,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,355,000 after purchasing an additional 348,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,218,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,730,000 after purchasing an additional 319,795 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CNO. Wall Street Zen cut CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore set a $48.00 target price on CNO Financial Group and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.75.

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.