HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,794 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Horace Mann Educators were worth $541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,690 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 50,873 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,996,000 after buying an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Horace Mann Educators by 389.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 779 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 72.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. 99.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Down 1.0 %

HMN stock opened at $42.69 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.11. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 0.25. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.58. Horace Mann Educators had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 6.44%. As a group, analysts forecast that Horace Mann Educators Co. will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horace Mann Educators Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Horace Mann Educators’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Horace Mann Educators’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Horace Mann Educators

In other Horace Mann Educators news, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total transaction of $108,060.12. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,262.72. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 4,000 shares of Horace Mann Educators stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.40, for a total transaction of $157,600.00. Following the completion of 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 valued at $415,140 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Horace Mann Educators Company 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.