Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,755,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 143,702 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CNO Financial Group were worth $65,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 51.6% during 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 period. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 157,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,842,000 after purchasing an additional 8,689 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 671,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,945,000 after purchasing an additional 181,711 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 20,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 62,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,333,000 after buying an additional 10,774 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $46.00 price target (up previously from $44.00) on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.50.

CNO Financial Group Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CNO opened at $41.49 on Thursday. 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 $42.02. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.61.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.11%.

Insider Activity

In other CNO Financial Group news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total transaction of $168,795.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 72,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,734,328.96. This trade represents a 5.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.21% of the company’s stock.

About CNO Financial Group

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.