American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,239,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 118,417 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 3.34% of CNO Financial Group worth $128,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 882,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,903,000 after buying an additional 91,417 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 32.6% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 764,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,509,000 after acquiring an additional 187,974 shares in the last quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 14.0% during the second quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 639,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,689,000 after purchasing an additional 78,793 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 1.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 607,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,443,000 after purchasing an additional 8,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 70.9% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 539,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,804,000 after purchasing an additional 223,633 shares in the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In other CNO Financial Group news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 9,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total value of $395,455.80. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 73,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,149,503.20. The trade was a 11.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 45,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.17, for a total transaction of $1,958,061.69. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 320,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,838,013.99. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 226,431 shares of company stock valued at $9,715,996 in the last three months. 3.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CNO. Wall Street Zen raised CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.25.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNO opened at $41.77 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $42.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.63 and a 52 week high of $44.85.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.27. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The business had revenue of $101.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 30.49%.

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.