Bank of America Corp DE Decreases Stake in Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN)

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its stake in Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 731,310 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 44,831 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 1.79% of Horace Mann Educators worth $28,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HMN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 183.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,162,264 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $84,827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400,210 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,463,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $135,890,000 after purchasing an additional 521,437 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 203.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 329,964 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,944,000 after purchasing an additional 221,233 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Horace Mann Educators during the fourth quarter valued at $4,209,000. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Horace Mann Educators during the fourth quarter valued at $3,252,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Horace Mann Educators

In other news, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,816 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,738.98. This represents a 17.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $215,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 320,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,808,233.59. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,816 shares of company stock worth $543,144. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. 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 research report on Friday, February 7th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Horace Mann Educators from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.00.

Horace Mann Educators Price Performance

Shares of HMN stock opened at $43.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.55. Horace Mann Educators Co. has a 12 month low of $31.81 and a 12 month high of $44.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54 and a beta of 0.28.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $416.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $421.40 million. Horace Mann Educators had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. Analysts predict that Horace Mann Educators Co. will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Horace Mann Educators Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Horace Mann Educators’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.72%.

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.