Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 60,240 Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its CNO Financial Group stake by 7.6%, buying 60,240 shares to reach 855,405 shares valued at approximately $45.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.43% of the company.
• CNO reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.26 versus the $0.97 analyst estimate and revenue of $1.29 billion, up 11.6% year over year. The company also maintains a $0.18 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.3% yield.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with CNO holding a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $56 average price target, while insiders sold 47,995 shares worth about $2.64 million over the past three months.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Free Report) by 7.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 855,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 60,240 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.92% of CNO Financial Group worth $45,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CNO. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in CNO Financial Group by 156.9% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 483 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 38.4% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 713 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 72.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Karen DeToro sold 9,374 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $515,382.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 44,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,432,865. The trade was a 17.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeremy Williams sold 4,420 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $244,293.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,435,749.01. This represents a 6.64% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 47,995 shares of company stock worth $2,641,336 over the last three months. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE CNO opened at $54.75 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $54.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.35 and a 52 week high of $57.59. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81 and a beta of 0.80.

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

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. CNO Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CNO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Capital One Financial set a $70.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of CNO Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

CNO Financial Group Profile

CNO Financial Group, Inc is a holding company that provides insurance and related financial services to middle-income Americans. Through its operating companies, CNO offers products designed to help individuals and families address retirement income, life insurance, health care and long-term financial protection needs.

The company's primary brands include Bankers Life, which distributes insurance and annuity products through agents; Washington National, which focuses on supplemental health and life insurance; and Colonial Penn, which markets life and supplemental health insurance directly to consumers.

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