Insiders At CNO Financial Group Sold US$4.8m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

Over the past year, many CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At CNO Financial Group

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the CEO & Director, Gary Bhojwani, for US$2.5m worth of shares, at about US$41.02 per share. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$37.49. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

Insiders in CNO Financial Group didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

See our latest analysis for CNO Financial Group

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Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. CNO Financial Group insiders own about US$94m worth of shares. That equates to 2.5% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About CNO Financial Group Insiders?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded CNO Financial Group shares in the last quarter. Still, the insider transactions at CNO Financial Group in the last 12 months are not very heartening. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing CNO Financial Group. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for CNO Financial Group that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

But note: CNO Financial Group may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.