MetLife Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) by 1.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 31,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 564 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Kemper were worth $1,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KMPR. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 158.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,097 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 7,409 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Kemper by 294.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,718 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 7,257 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 805,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 16,108 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $987,000 after acquiring an additional 16,106 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Kemper by 1,070.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 140,189 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,526,000 after acquiring an additional 128,213 shares during the period. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new position in shares of Kemper during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,752,000. 86.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kemper Stock Performance

NYSE:KMPR opened at $71.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96 and a beta of 0.88. Kemper Co. has a 52-week low of $45.96 and a 52-week high of $73.01.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.28. Kemper had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 5.86%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.44) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Kemper Co. will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Kemper’s payout ratio is 29.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMPR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Kemper from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. StockNews.com raised Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James increased their target price on Kemper from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Kemper from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Kemper in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $79.00.

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.