Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Acquires 620 Shares of Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) by 389.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 779 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Horace Mann Educators were worth $31,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Horace Mann Educators by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,942,494 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $104,194,000 after purchasing an additional 359,083 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 470,255 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $18,448,000 after purchasing an additional 54,398 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 336.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,012 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,446,000 after buying an additional 53,961 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 954,080 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,351,000 after buying an additional 22,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 223,512 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,812,000 after acquiring an additional 21,430 shares during the last quarter. 99.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Horace Mann Educators Trading Down 1.8 %

HMN opened at $40.46 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $39.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.09. Horace Mann Educators Co. has a fifty-two week low of $31.81 and a fifty-two week high of $43.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.25.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Horace Mann Educators Co. will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Horace Mann Educators Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Horace Mann Educators’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Horace Mann Educators’s payout ratio is 56.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Horace Mann Educators

In other Horace Mann Educators news, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,817 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,262.72. The trade was a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.37, for a total value of $149,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 294,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,998,887.88. This represents a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,817 shares of company stock worth $415,140. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

About Horace Mann Educators

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.