Private Advisor Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 29,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 361.5% in the second 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 during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Unum Group in the first quarter valued at $28,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,464.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,464.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNM. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. 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 for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.90.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $55.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.22 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $41.75 and a 12-month high of $58.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.90 and a 200 day moving average of $52.40.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.06 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This is a positive change from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 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.