Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Sells 500 Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in CNO Financial Group were worth $782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CNO. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 51.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $54,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connable Office Inc. purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $207,000. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In other news, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total transaction of $1,636,080.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 204,143 shares in the company, valued at $8,186,134.30. This represents a 16.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 1,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total value of $56,421.68. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 79,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,037,645.92. This represents a 1.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 87,584 shares of company stock worth $3,554,089. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.50.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNO opened at $41.68 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $39.11 and its 200 day moving average is $37.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 1.04. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.92 and a fifty-two week high of $42.02.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.25. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.20% and a net margin of 9.08%. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.11%.

About CNO Financial Group

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.