Strs Ohio Reduces Holdings in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Strs Ohio cut its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 78.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,000 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in CNO Financial Group were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CNO. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 190.3% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 579,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,925,000 after acquiring an additional 379,984 shares during the period. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 384.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 438,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,355,000 after acquiring an additional 348,300 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,857,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,651,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 70.9% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 539,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,804,000 after acquiring an additional 223,633 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In other news, insider Yvonne K. Franzese sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.17, for a total value of $388,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 35,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,513,626.54. This represents a 20.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 45,357 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.17, for a total value of $1,958,061.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 320,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,838,013.99. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 196,778 shares of company stock worth $8,442,863 over the last 90 days. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CNO shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.50.

CNO Financial Group Trading Down 0.7%

CNO opened at $45.69 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35 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, Inc. has a one year low of $35.24 and a one year high of $46.33.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio 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.