American Century Companies Inc. Buys 282,611 Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,687,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 282,611 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 2.60% of CNO Financial Group worth $100,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in CNO Financial Group by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in CNO Financial Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of CNO Financial Group stock opened at $42.23 on Tuesday. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.92 and a fifty-two week high of $42.41. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.15 and a 200 day moving average of $37.83.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.25. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.20% and a net margin of 9.08%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 25,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $1,020,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 169,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,066.84. This trade represents a 13.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total value of $1,636,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 204,143 shares in the company, valued at $8,186,134.30. This represents a 16.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 132,600 shares of company stock worth $5,372,187 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CNO shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on CNO Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Finally, 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 report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.50.

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.