Boston Partners Buys 574,730 Shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

Boston Partners boosted its stake in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) by 108.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,105,859 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 574,730 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Kemper were worth $73,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 565.8% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,094 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,517,000 after purchasing an additional 34,922 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 81.1% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 838,085 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $51,333,000 after purchasing an additional 375,324 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 244.2% in the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 18,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 13,376 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 7.0% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 108,355 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,637,000 after purchasing an additional 7,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 543,044 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,080,000 after purchasing an additional 28,807 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Kemper Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Kemper stock opened at $67.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Kemper Co. has a 1 year low of $54.11 and a 1 year high of $73.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.35.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts expect that Kemper Co. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. This is a positive change from Kemper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Kemper’s payout ratio is presently 26.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, 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. Five 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 has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.60.

Kemper Company 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.