Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Holdings in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 469,708 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 57,747 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Kemper were worth $31,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Partners raised its position in Kemper by 108.2% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,105,859 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $73,363,000 after acquiring an additional 574,730 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kemper in the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,325,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Kemper by 3,378.5% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 220,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,724,000 after purchasing an additional 214,367 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kemper during the fourth quarter valued at $14,016,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Kemper by 102.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 201,756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,358,000 after buying an additional 102,339 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KMPR shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Kemper from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $81.60.

Kemper Stock Down 2.2 %

KMPR stock opened at $56.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.80. Kemper Co. has a twelve month low of $53.57 and a twelve month high of $73.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.40. Kemper had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 14.11%. On average, equities analysts predict that Kemper Co. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. This is a boost from Kemper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.07%.

About Kemper

Kemper Corporation, a diversified insurance holding company, engages in the provision of insurance products to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Specialty Property & Casualty Insurance, Preferred Property & Casualty Insurance, and Life & Health Insurance.