Bank of America Corp DE Takes $50.03 Million Position in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 981,444 shares of CNO Financial Group worth approximately $50.03 million, giving it a 1.06% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 95.43% of the company.
• CNO reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.26 versus the $0.97 consensus and revenue of $1.29 billion, up 11.6% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $56.00. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, representing a 1.3% yield.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 981,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $50,034,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 1.06% of CNO Financial Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Odyssean LLC bought a new position in CNO Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $397,000. Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,419,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth $1,992,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth $3,169,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $4,201,000. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNO Financial Group

In related news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,264 shares in the company, valued at $8,971,110.72. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeremy D. Williams sold 4,362 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total transaction of $243,050.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 61,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,401,204.52. The trade was a 6.67% 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 134,043 shares of company stock valued at $7,071,087 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CNO. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Evercore set a $48.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Capital One Financial set a $70.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CNO Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.00.

CNO Financial Group Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE CNO opened at $55.19 on Monday. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.22 and a 12-month high of $57.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96 and a beta of 0.80.

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

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. CNO Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 24.74%.

CNO Financial Group Profile

CNO Financial Group, Inc is an insurance holding company headquartered in Carmel, Indiana. Through its operating companies, CNO provides insurance and related financial products designed primarily for middle-income Americans, including individuals and families approaching or living in retirement.

CNO's businesses include Bankers Life, which offers life insurance, annuities and long-term care products through agents; Colonial Penn, which markets life insurance directly to consumers; and Washington National, which provides supplemental health and life insurance products.

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