First Trust Advisors LP Decreases Stock Holdings in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 36.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 983,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 571,880 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 1.01% of CNO Financial Group worth $37,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNO. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 70.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,546,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,673,000 after buying an additional 641,950 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth $24,071,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 72.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,333,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,641,000 after acquiring an additional 561,327 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 9.3% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,938,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,369,000 after purchasing an additional 250,173 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $8,140,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.25.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

CNO opened at $39.97 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.81. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.63 and a 12-month high of $43.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 0.86.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $968.30 million during the quarter. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 6.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is 23.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CNO Financial Group news, CIO Eric R. Johnson sold 48,665 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.24, for a total transaction of $2,006,944.60. Following the sale, the executive directly owned 671,542 shares in the company, valued at $27,694,392.08. This represents a 6.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.