Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 426,328 Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its CNO stake by 3.5% in Q4, selling 426,328 shares and now holds 11,647,238 shares (about 12.22% of the company) valued at roughly $494.7 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — including the CEO and general counsel — with 196,778 shares sold in the past 90 days worth $8.44 million; insiders now own about 3.44% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus is a Hold with a $47.50 target, while the stock yields ~1.5% annually and CNO recently reported an EPS beat for the quarter.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,647,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 426,328 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.22% of CNO Financial Group worth $494,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CNO. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,302,316 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $170,157,000 after acquiring an additional 42,467 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 3.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,239,944 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $128,140,000 after purchasing an additional 118,417 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 898,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,525,000 after purchasing an additional 66,937 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 882,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,903,000 after purchasing an additional 91,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 32.6% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 764,867 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,509,000 after purchasing an additional 187,974 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded CNO Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Evercore reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 33,800 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total transaction of $1,455,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 307,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,687.85. This trade represents a 9.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 43,021 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total transaction of $1,852,054.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 277,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,947,494.30. The trade was a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 196,778 shares of company stock worth $8,442,863. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CNO Financial Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:CNO opened at $45.49 on Wednesday. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.24 and a 1 year high of $45.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.27. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.65% and a net margin of 5.44%.The firm had revenue of $101.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. CNO Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.31%.

About CNO Financial Group

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CNO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Free Report).

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.