State of Wyoming Makes New Investment in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $436,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in CNO Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $1,125,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 102.1% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 45,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,914,000 after acquiring an additional 22,749 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 16,092 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,871,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 3,633.6% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 70,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,894,000 after purchasing an additional 68,602 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In other CNO Financial Group news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $287,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 79,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,959,550. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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. 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 sold a total of 95,106 shares of company stock valued at $4,879,343 in the last quarter. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, July 10th. 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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 report on Monday, July 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of CNO stock opened at $53.16 on Friday. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.24 and a 1 year high of $54.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 yield of 1.4%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.92%.

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.