Global Retirement Partners LLC Acquires New Shares in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $536,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNO. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,125,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 102.1% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 45,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,914,000 after acquiring an additional 22,749 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 6.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 988,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,570,000 after purchasing an additional 57,804 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in CNO Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,141,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 26.0% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 219,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,017,000 after purchasing an additional 45,248 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In other news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total value of $4,429,751.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,264 shares in the company, valued at $8,971,110.72. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $287,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 79,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,959,550. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,106 shares of company stock valued at $4,879,343. Corporate insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CNO opened at $53.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35 and a beta of 0.81. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.21 and a twelve month high of $57.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $52.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.86.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $999.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CNO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Evercore set a $48.00 price objective on CNO Financial Group and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.50.

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.