Journey Advisory Group LLC Decreases Holdings in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Key Points

• Journey Advisory Group LLC cut its CNO Financial Group stake by 91.1% in the first quarter, selling 74,939 shares and leaving it with 7,317 shares valued at about $300,000.
• CNO Financial Group’s stock was trading up 1.4% at $53.48, near its 52-week high of $53.72, while the company reported a market cap of $4.99 billion and a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” with a $51.50 average price target.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.18 per share from $0.17, while several insiders, including the CEO and CMO, recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Journey Advisory Group LLC decreased its stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Free Report) by 91.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,317 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 74,939 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC's holdings in CNO Financial Group were worth $300,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 882,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,903,000 after purchasing an additional 91,417 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,125,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 83.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,381 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,503,000 after buying an additional 16,092 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 102.1% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 45,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,914,000 after buying an additional 22,749 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 16.5% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 441,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,450,000 after buying an additional 62,615 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of CNO Financial Group stock opened at $53.48 on Friday. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.24 and a 1 year high of $53.72. The firm has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.82.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from CNO Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. CNO Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $287,500.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 79,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,959,550. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,264 shares in the company, valued at $8,971,110.72. This trade represents a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 95,106 shares of company stock valued at $4,879,343 over the last quarter. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CNO Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore set a $48.00 price target on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of CNO Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.50.

CNO Financial Group Profile

CNO Financial Group is an Indiana‐based holding company that offers a range of insurance and retirement solutions through its operating subsidiaries. Its primary business activities include life insurance, annuities, and supplemental health insurance products designed to help individuals plan for retirement and manage health‐related expenses. The company serves middle‐income Americans, with particular emphasis on senior customers seeking guaranteed coverage and reliable income streams.

Originally founded as Conseco in 1979, the company underwent a financial restructuring and rebranded as CNO Financial Group in 2010.

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