Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires Shares of 6,219 Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA bought a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 6,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HMN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 389.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 779 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Horace Mann Educators by 72.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the 4th quarter worth about $92,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC bought a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $216,000. 99.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Horace Mann Educators news, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.86, for a total value of $120,693.76. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,643 shares in the company, valued at $584,738.98. This trade represents a 17.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.37, for a total transaction of $149,480.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 294,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,998,887.88. The trade was a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,816 shares of company stock valued at $485,624 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Horace Mann Educators Price Performance

Shares of Horace Mann Educators stock opened at $39.85 on Friday. Horace Mann Educators Co. has a 1-year low of $31.81 and a 1-year high of $43.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.61. 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 $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07 and a beta of 0.21.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Horace Mann Educators Co. will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Horace Mann Educators Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. This is a positive change from Horace Mann Educators’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Horace Mann Educators’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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