Ascent Group LLC Has $1.13 Million Stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Ascent Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 5.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,369 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Unum Group by 51.7% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,961,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,776 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 6,498.1% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 636,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,145,000 after purchasing an additional 626,676 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Unum Group by 62.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,119,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,237,000 after buying an additional 432,240 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Unum Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,590,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $931,109,000 after buying an additional 300,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Unum Group by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 973,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,021,000 after buying an additional 292,917 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 price target (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.80.

Unum Group Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:UNM opened at $59.44 on Tuesday. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $41.75 and a 52 week high of $59.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $54.90 and a 200 day moving average of $52.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.83, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.77.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.14. The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 paid a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.96%.

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

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

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

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.