Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Sells 20,787 Shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC reduced its position in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 685,008 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 20,787 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 1.07% of Kemper worth $45,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Kemper by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 26,630 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,769,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Kemper by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,698 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Kemper by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 715 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Kemper by 2.2% in 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 period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Kemper by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,232 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 86.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMPR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Kemper from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Kemper from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $81.60.

Kemper Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of KMPR traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $59.17. 216,035 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 365,187. Kemper Co. has a 12 month low of $53.57 and a 12 month high of $73.01. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 1.05. The company's fifty day moving average price is $62.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.40. Kemper had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 14.11%. Equities research analysts predict that Kemper Co. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Kemper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Kemper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.