Vise Technologies Inc. Makes New $1.09 Million Investment in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 20,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 701.3% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 12,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 10,962 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 227.9% in the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 20,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 13,900 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the third quarter worth approximately $439,000. MBL Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $285,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In related news, insider Jeremy D. Williams sold 4,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total transaction of $243,050.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 61,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,401,204.52. This trade represents a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Karen J. Detoro sold 5,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total transaction of $328,735.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,009,124. The trade was a 14.06% 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 quarter, insiders sold 47,995 shares of company stock valued at $2,641,336. 3.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Capital One Financial set a $70.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.00.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

CNO opened at $55.39 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $54.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.99 and a 1 year high of $59.15. The stock has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 0.80.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.80. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 9.19%. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. Analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Profile

CNO Financial Group is a U.S.-based insurance and financial services company focused on serving middle-income Americans, particularly people approaching or living in retirement. Through its insurance subsidiaries, it offers life insurance, annuities, and health insurance products, including Medicare supplement and supplemental health coverage.

The company distributes its products through a mix of career agents, independent producers, and direct-to-consumer channels. Its consumer brands include Bankers Life, Washington National, and Colonial Penn, serving customers across the United States.

Founded in 1979 as Conseco, the company adopted the name CNO Financial Group in 2010.