State of Alaska Department of Revenue Increases Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 2.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 89.8% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,207,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,728,000 after buying an additional 571,436 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,119,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,237,000 after purchasing an additional 432,240 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 872,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,609,000 after purchasing an additional 64,661 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 413,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,127,000 after purchasing an additional 35,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 411,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,078,000 after purchasing an additional 69,928 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNM. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Unum Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.09.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM stock opened at $64.08 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.76. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $41.86 and a 12-month high of $64.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued 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 is currently 18.18%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $541,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,464.31. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Unum Group 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 transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 82,795 shares of company stock worth $4,589,269 in the last quarter. Company 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.