Millennium Management LLC Sells 21,771 Shares of Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN)

Millennium Management LLC cut its position in Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) by 74.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 21,771 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC’s holdings in Horace Mann Educators were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HMN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 183.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 valued at $135,890,000 after acquiring an additional 521,437 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased 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 valued at $12,944,000 after acquiring an additional 221,233 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,209,000. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,252,000. 99.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Horace Mann Educators Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HMN opened at $42.53 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.89. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 0.28. Horace Mann Educators Co. has a 52 week low of $31.81 and a 52 week high of $44.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $416.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $421.40 million. Horace Mann Educators had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 6.44%. Horace Mann Educators’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. 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 announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Horace Mann Educators Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. Horace Mann Educators’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.72%.

Insider Activity at Horace Mann Educators

In other Horace Mann Educators news, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.86, for a total value of $120,693.76. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Victor Fetter acquired 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $44.03 per share, for a total transaction of $154,105.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,259.65. This represents a 31.38% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,014 shares of company stock worth $2,328,368 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Horace Mann Educators from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Horace Mann Educators presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.00.

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.