Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 8.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,492,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 114,000 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CNO Financial Group were worth $61,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 15,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 2.1% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 19,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $797,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In other CNO Financial Group news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $287,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 79,191 shares in the company, valued at $3,959,550. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total transaction of $4,429,751.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 174,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,971,110.72. This trade represents a 33.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,106 shares of company stock worth $4,879,343. 3.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CNO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, July 10th. Evercore set a $48.00 price target on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.50.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

CNO stock opened at $53.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50-day moving average is $49.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.82. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.24 and a 1 year high of $53.72.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 10th. This is a positive change from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 28.92%.

CNO Financial Group Profile

CNO Financial Group is an Indiana‐based holding company that offers a range of insurance and retirement solutions through its operating subsidiaries. Its primary business activities include life insurance, annuities, and supplemental health insurance products designed to help individuals plan for retirement and manage health‐related expenses. The company serves middle‐income Americans, with particular emphasis on senior customers seeking guaranteed coverage and reliable income streams.

Originally founded as Conseco in 1979, the company underwent a financial restructuring and rebranded as CNO Financial Group in 2010.