CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,923,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 379,238 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in CNO Financial Group were worth $166,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 90.1% during the third quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 39.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 32.1% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 11,060 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.97, for a total value of $442,068.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 214,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,574,524.28. This represents a 4.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on CNO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore set a $48.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.75.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CNO opened at $48.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.88. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.24 and a 1 year high of $48.82.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This is an increase from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.