Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $16.39 Million Holdings in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 97.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 587,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 290,585 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.52% of CNO Financial Group worth $16,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CNO. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 95.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth about $63,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in CNO Financial Group by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in CNO Financial Group by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 4,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 1.6 %

CNO Financial Group stock opened at $27.40 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.87. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.95 and a fifty-two week high of $28.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.19.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $934.05 million. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 6.67% and a return on equity of 17.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CNO. StockNews.com lowered shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CNO Financial Group news, EVP Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 3,220 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.76, for a total transaction of $86,167.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 278,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,465,959.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 3,220 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.76, for a total value of $86,167.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 278,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,465,959.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Paul H. Mcdonough sold 10,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.36, for a total transaction of $285,426.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 192,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,064,652.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 98,040 shares of company stock worth $2,622,223. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

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.