Geode Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 999,708 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 11,173 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.56% of Kemper worth $66,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Kemper by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,698 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Kemper by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 715 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Kemper by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,985 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,232 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Kemper by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,551 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $900,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. 86.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kemper Trading Down 1.3 %

Kemper stock traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $56.77. 400,323 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 366,038. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $64.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.49. Kemper Co. has a fifty-two week low of $53.57 and a fifty-two week high of $73.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 1.05.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kemper Co. will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Kemper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Kemper's payout ratio is 26.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Kemper from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.60.

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.