Intech Investment Management LLC Buys 7,085 Shares of Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN)

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) by 31.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 29,833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,085 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Horace Mann Educators were worth $1,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HMN. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 184.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 20,440 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $772,000 after acquiring an additional 13,255 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the fourth quarter valued at $1,511,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 11,192 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 1,840 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the fourth quarter valued at $1,121,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the fourth quarter valued at $428,000. Institutional investors own 99.28% of the company’s stock.

Horace Mann Educators Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:HMN opened at $41.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.58 and a beta of 0.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.84. Horace Mann Educators Co. has a 12 month low of $31.81 and a 12 month high of $43.53.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.58. Horace Mann Educators had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 10.58%. Analysts expect that Horace Mann Educators Co. will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Horace Mann Educators Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from Horace Mann Educators’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Horace Mann Educators’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total transaction of $108,060.12. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $627,262.72. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.40, for a total transaction of $157,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 298,324 shares in the company, valued at $11,753,965.60. The trade was a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,817 shares of company stock worth $415,140 over the last three months. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.67.

Horace Mann Educators Profile

Horace Mann Educators Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an insurance holding company in the United States. The company operates through Property & Casualty, Life & Retirement, and Supplemental & Group Benefits segments. Its Property & Casualty segment offers insurance products, including private passenger auto insurance, residential home insurance, and personal umbrella insurance; and provides auto coverages including liability and collision, and property coverage for homeowners and renters.