Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) by 52.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,929 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Kemper were worth $1,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 1,452.8% in the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 102,407 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,804,000 after acquiring an additional 95,812 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Kemper by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 371,144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $24,659,000 after buying an additional 36,004 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Kemper by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 108,703 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,222,000 after purchasing an additional 5,082 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,232 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kemper in the 4th quarter worth about $14,016,000. 86.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KMPR shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Kemper from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.60.

Kemper Stock Performance

Shares of Kemper stock opened at $56.77 on Friday. Kemper Co. has a one year low of $53.57 and a one year high of $73.01. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.49.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.40. Kemper had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 6.85%. Research analysts expect that Kemper Co. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Kemper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Kemper’s payout ratio is presently 26.07%.

Kemper Profile

Kemper Corporation, a diversified insurance holding company, engages in the provision of insurance products to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Specialty Property & Casualty Insurance, Preferred Property & Casualty Insurance, and Life & Health Insurance.