Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Purchases Shares of 2,228 CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CNO. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,205,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,289,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,568,000 after purchasing an additional 489,460 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,891,000. Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 49.6% in the first quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 829,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,407,000 after purchasing an additional 274,848 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 529.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 279,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,030,000 after purchasing an additional 235,400 shares during the period. 92.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.84, for a total value of $45,680.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 77,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,369.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,500 shares of company stock worth $83,555. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

CNO stock opened at $23.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.48 and a 12 month high of $26.35. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $24.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.25.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.15). CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 5.66% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $915.17 million. On average, analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 31.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, June 29th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.50.

About CNO Financial Group

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.