Versor Investments LP Takes $715,000 Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 13,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $715,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 361.5% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Unum Group in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,464.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNM shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.78.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.8 %

UNM opened at $55.06 on Wednesday. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $41.75 and a 52 week high of $58.17. The company has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $53.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.14. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This is a boost from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.96%.

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block segment. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products.