The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases New Position in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 84,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,307,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 39.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 2.1% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 19,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 36,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 90,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,856,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CNO. Jefferies Financial Group lowered CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Capital One Financial set a $70.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Evercore set a $48.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $287,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 79,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,959,550. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total value of $4,429,751.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,971,110.72. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 95,106 shares of company stock valued at $4,879,343 in the last three months. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CNO Financial Group Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of CNO stock opened at $54.84 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.22 and a 12 month high of $57.59. The stock has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.51.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $999.45 million. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 18.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 4.74 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is 24.74%.

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.