Rocco Tarasi III Sells 5,750 Shares of CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Stock

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) CMO Rocco Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $287,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 79,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,959,550. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:CNO traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $49.99. The stock had a trading volume of 531,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 681,845. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.24 and a 1 year high of $50.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $45.04 and its 200-day moving average is $42.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08 and a beta of 0.81.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 28.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore set a $48.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 90.1% during the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 353.0% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 75.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 123.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.