LPL Financial LLC Raises Stock Holdings in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 907 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in CNO Financial Group were worth $695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,687,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,015,000 after purchasing an additional 282,611 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 671,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,945,000 after buying an additional 181,711 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $5,354,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 113.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 219,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,691,000 after acquiring an additional 116,617 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 6.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,899,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,676,000 after acquiring an additional 107,589 shares in the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CNO. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Yvonne K. Franzese sold 2,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.18, for a total transaction of $84,908.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,606.92. This trade represents a 6.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total value of $1,692,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 244,943 shares in the company, valued at $10,162,685.07. This trade represents a 14.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,512 shares of company stock valued at $6,497,710. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE:CNO opened at $38.65 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $39.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.75 and a 12 month high of $43.20. The company has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.90.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.25. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.20% and a net margin of 9.08%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.11%.

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.