Farther Finance Advisors LLC Reduces Position in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC decreased its position in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 548 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in CNO Financial Group were worth $263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 95.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total value of $1,636,080.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 204,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,186,134.30. This trade represents a 16.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 25,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $1,020,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 169,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,066.84. The trade was a 13.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 132,600 shares of company stock worth $5,372,187 in the last ninety days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

CNO Financial Group stock opened at $40.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 1.02. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.92 and a 52-week high of $42.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $39.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.64.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.25. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 9.08% and a return on equity of 17.20%. On average, research analysts expect that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.11%.

CNO Financial Group Company Profile

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.