Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 76.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 48,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 157,894 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $2,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNM. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 361.5% during 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 during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on UNM shares. Barclays started coverage on Unum Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, August 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.60.

Unum Group Stock Performance

UNM stock opened at $59.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.08. 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 $59.83.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.48 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. 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.