Fifth Third Bancorp Grows Holdings in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 3,633.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 70,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 68,602 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in CNO Financial Group were worth $2,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 384 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 36,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $287,500.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total value of $4,429,751.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,971,110.72. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,106 shares of company stock worth $4,879,343. 3.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CNO Financial Group Stock Down 1.0%

CNO opened at $53.07 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31 and a beta of 0.81. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.24 and a 12 month high of $54.09.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were given 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 yield of 1.4%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on CNO Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Evercore set a $48.00 price objective on CNO Financial Group and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.50.

About CNO Financial Group

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.