Farther Finance Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 548 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in CNO Financial Group were worth $263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 95.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CNO Financial Group Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CNO opened at $40.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.92 and a fifty-two week high of $42.41.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.25. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 9.08% and a return on equity of 17.20%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is 17.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.50.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In related news, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total value of $1,692,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 244,943 shares in the company, valued at $10,162,685.07. This trade represents a 14.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 25,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.11, for a total transaction of $1,022,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 169,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,792,307.62. This trade represents a 13.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 132,600 shares of company stock worth $5,372,187 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Profile

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.