Vest Financial LLC Makes New Investment in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)

Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 69,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,883,000. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.07% of CNO Financial Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 236.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 922,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,323,000 after buying an additional 648,591 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $15,093,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $14,270,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $13,975,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,274,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,419,000 after buying an additional 372,701 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In other news, insider Yvonne K. Franzese sold 8,109 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $340,578.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,618,680. This represents a 17.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeremy David Williams sold 3,393 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total value of $141,725.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 56,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,364,140.23. The trade was a 5.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,912 shares of company stock worth $1,125,523. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

CNO Financial Group Stock Down 0.6%

CNO stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $37.93. 620,367 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 703,294. The firm's 50-day moving average is $38.00 and its 200-day moving average is $38.94. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.36 and a 12 month high of $43.20. The company has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.19.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.80 million. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.20% and a net margin of 9.08%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This is an increase from CNO Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. CNO Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 23.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

About CNO Financial Group

CNO Financial Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops, markets, and administers health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, insurance products, and financial services for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. It offers Medicare supplement, supplemental health, and long-term care insurance policies; life insurance; and annuities, as well as Medicare advantage plans to individuals through phone, online, mail, and face-to-face.