Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 383 Shares of Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 21,364 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 383 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Horace Mann Educators were worth $913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in HMN. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 13.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 54,398 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 2.1% during the fourth 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the fourth quarter worth $428,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position 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. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 566,880 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $22,239,000 after acquiring an additional 8,570 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Horace Mann Educators from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.00.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Up 0.1%

Horace Mann Educators stock opened at $43.01 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.28. Horace Mann Educators Corporation has a 1-year low of $31.81 and a 1-year high of $44.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $416.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $421.40 million. Horace Mann Educators had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 11.86%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Horace Mann Educators Corporation will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horace Mann Educators Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Horace Mann Educators’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.72%.

Horace Mann Educators announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Horace Mann Educators

In related news, EVP Bret A. Conklin sold 15,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $673,341.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,428,067.84. This trade represents a 21.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victor Fetter purchased 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $44.03 per share, with a total value of $154,105.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 14,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $645,259.65. The trade was a 31.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,198 shares of company stock valued at $1,992,225. Corporate 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.