Insider Selling: CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) General Counsel Sells $1,017,516.90 in Stock

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) General Counsel Matthew Zimpfer sold 23,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.17, for a total transaction of $1,017,516.90. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 307,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,293,640.29. The trade was a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CNO stock opened at $43.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.65. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $34.63 and a one year high of $44.85.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $101.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 15.80%. CNO Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is 30.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in CNO Financial Group by 90.1% during the third quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 353.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.25.

CNO Financial Group Company Profile

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.