Meritage Portfolio Management Cuts Holdings in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Meritage Portfolio Management decreased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 5.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,135 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in CNO Financial Group were worth $803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 89.7% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 2.4% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 21,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $810,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 25.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 6.1% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.60.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNO opened at $39.28 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.27. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $34.10 and a one year high of $43.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $968.30 million for the quarter. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 16.63%. As a group, equities analysts predict that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.09%.

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.