Congress Asset Management Co. Acquires 37,413 Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management increased its CNO Financial Group holdings by 21%, purchasing 37,413 additional shares to reach 215,953 shares valued at approximately $11.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 95.43% of the company.
• CNO insiders sold 47,995 shares worth about $2.64 million during the latest quarter, though the transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans.
• CNO reported quarterly earnings of $1.26 per share, exceeding estimates of $0.97, while revenue rose 11.6% year over year to $1.29 billion. The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, and analysts have an average “Hold” rating with a $56 price target.

Congress Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Free Report) by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 215,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 37,413 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 0.23% of CNO Financial Group worth $11,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CNO. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $682,433,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in CNO Financial Group during the second quarter worth $124,476,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in CNO Financial Group during the second quarter worth $50,034,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the second quarter worth $44,529,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 926.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 795,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,538,000 after acquiring an additional 717,710 shares in the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jeremy Williams sold 4,420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 62,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,435,749.01. This represents a 6.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Karen DeToro sold 9,374 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $515,382.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 44,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,432,865. This trade represents a 17.48% 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 have sold a total of 47,995 shares of company stock worth $2,641,336 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.44% of the company's stock.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNO opened at $54.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56 and a beta of 0.80. The business's 50 day moving average is $54.66 and its 200-day moving average is $49.86. 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 1-year low of $38.22 and a 1-year high of $57.59.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $999.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CNO. Capital One Financial set a $70.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded CNO Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings raised CNO Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered CNO Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Two 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 company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.