DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Purchases 8,660 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 259,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,660 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $12,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Unum Group during the first quarter worth about $1,130,000. Boone Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC now owns 961,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,486,000 after purchasing an additional 94,096 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 950,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000,000 after purchasing an additional 33,454 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 973,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,021,000 after purchasing an additional 292,917 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $590,489,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,464.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Unum Group in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Unum Group in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.90.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $55.02 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.77. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $41.75 and a 12 month high of $58.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.90 and a 200-day moving average of $52.42.

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

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

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