SG Americas Securities LLC Trims Stock Holdings in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities cut its CNO Financial Group stake by 73.9% in the first quarter, while institutional investors overall still hold 95.43% of the company’s shares.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including CEO Gary C. Bhojwani’s June 30 sale and CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III’s June 11 sale, bringing total insider sales to 95,106 shares over the last 90 days.
• CNO Financial Group raised its quarterly dividend to $0.18 per share from $0.17, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $48.75.

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Free Report) by 73.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 26,156 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in CNO Financial Group were worth $379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CNO. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 29.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 176,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,332,000 after acquiring an additional 40,054 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 60,757 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,531,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 376,747 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,692,000 after purchasing an additional 20,728 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 146.4% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 149,159 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,212,000 after purchasing an additional 88,619 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 637.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CNO Financial Group news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total transaction of $4,429,751.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,971,110.72. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $287,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 79,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,959,550. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 95,106 shares of company stock worth $4,879,343 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut CNO Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Evercore set a $48.00 price objective on CNO Financial Group and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.75.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNO opened at $52.88 on Friday. 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 market cap of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24 and a beta of 0.81. The stock's 50-day moving average is $48.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.50. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.24 and a 1-year high of $53.55.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from CNO Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 10th. CNO Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.92%.

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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