Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 214,367 Shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) by 3,378.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 220,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 214,367 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.34% of Kemper worth $15,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 3.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,136,621 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $130,868,000 after purchasing an additional 79,622 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its position in Kemper by 108.2% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,105,859 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $73,363,000 after purchasing an additional 574,730 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kemper by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,010,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $61,933,000 after buying an additional 9,412 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Kemper by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 543,044 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,080,000 after buying an additional 28,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 425,221 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,252,000 after buying an additional 28,196 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Kemper Stock Performance

Shares of Kemper stock opened at $68.75 on Friday. Kemper Co. has a 12 month low of $54.11 and a 12 month high of $73.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 0.88. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.55.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kemper Co. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Kemper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Kemper’s payout ratio is currently 26.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMPR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Kemper from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.60.

About Kemper

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.