Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Stock Holdings in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its position in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Free Report) by 75.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 292,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 906,905 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.28% of CNO Financial Group worth $10,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in CNO Financial Group by 6.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,899,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $66,676,000 after purchasing an additional 107,589 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP bought a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,360,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 69.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 39,946 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 16,420 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 113.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 219,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,691,000 after acquiring an additional 116,617 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $227,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CNO. Piper Sandler raised their target price on CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.00.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:CNO traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.78. 356,783 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 509,995. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 1.04. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.92 and a 12 month high of $40.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.19. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.24 and a 200 day moving average of $35.00.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.29. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 17.53%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $945.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.73 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. CNO Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.81%.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In related news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total transaction of $168,795.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 72,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,734,328.96. This represents a 5.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeremy David Williams sold 4,783 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.09, for a total transaction of $191,750.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 62,121 shares in the company, valued at $2,490,430.89. This trade represents a 7.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,745 shares of company stock valued at $572,467 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.21% 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.