Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 122,250 Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,144,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 122,250 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 4.02% of CNO Financial Group worth $154,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CNO. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 368.2% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 796 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 95.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 855 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 51.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jeremy David Williams sold 11,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.51, for a total value of $469,063.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 65,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,710,561.49. This represents a 14.75 % 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, insider Yvonne K. Franzese sold 2,013 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.18, for a total transaction of $84,908.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,606.92. The trade was a 6.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,512 shares of company stock valued at $6,497,710 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE CNO traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $36.32. The company had a trading volume of 342,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 709,152. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.92 and a 52 week high of $43.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.34.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts expect that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. CNO Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 17.11%.

CNO Financial Group Company 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.