New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 4,154 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 211,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,154 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.11% of Unum Group worth $12,596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 361.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNM opened at $64.12 on Friday. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $41.75 and a 12-month high of $64.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 6.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.61.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. Unum Group’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 price objective (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.09.

Insider Activity

In other 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 approximately $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other 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 approximately $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Unum Group

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.