Lazard Asset Management LLC Purchases 8,452 Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 32.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 34,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,452 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CNO Financial Group were worth $1,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 368.2% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 95.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 193.2% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in CNO Financial Group by 137.8% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 773 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In related news, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total transaction of $1,636,080.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 204,143 shares in the company, valued at $8,186,134.30. The trade was a 16.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Yvonne K. Franzese sold 8,109 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $340,578.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,618,680. This trade represents a 17.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,512 shares of company stock worth $6,497,710 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:CNO opened at $38.69 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.09 and its 200 day moving average is $39.02. The company has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.19. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.36 and a 1 year high of $43.20.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.20% and a net margin of 9.08%. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.80 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. This is a boost from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is 23.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on CNO Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

CNO Financial Group Profile

CNO Financial Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops, markets, and administers health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, insurance products, and financial services for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. It offers Medicare supplement, supplemental health, and long-term care insurance policies; life insurance; and annuities, as well as Medicare advantage plans to individuals through phone, online, mail, and face-to-face.