Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires Shares of 6,446 Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,446 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Horace Mann Educators during the first quarter valued at approximately $693,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 69.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,697 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 27.1% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 64,655 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,763,000 after buying an additional 13,782 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 131,246 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,149,000 after buying an additional 14,844 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,158 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the period. 99.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on HMN shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Horace Mann Educators from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HMN traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $43.16. 230,578 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 248,782. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 0.28. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $42.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. Horace Mann Educators Corporation has a 52 week low of $31.81 and a 52 week high of $44.44.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $416.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $421.40 million. Horace Mann Educators had a return on equity of 11.86% and a net margin of 7.04%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Horace Mann Educators Corporation will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

Horace Mann Educators Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. Horace Mann Educators's payout ratio is currently 50.72%.

Horace Mann Educators declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Victor Fetter purchased 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $44.03 per share, with a total value of $154,105.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 14,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,259.65. This trade represents a 31.38% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 5,000 shares of Horace Mann Educators stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total value of $215,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 320,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,808,233.59. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,014 shares of company stock valued at $2,328,368. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

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.