Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 30,881 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Unum Group worth $6,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNM. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 23.5% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 940 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 60.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 1,211 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 26.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 9,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 1,913 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter worth about $281,000. Finally, Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 10.4% in the third quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 6,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on UNM shares. Bank of America upped their target price on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 target price (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays raised their target price on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Unum Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total transaction of $320,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,768,822.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total value of $320,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,768,822.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,464.31. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 82,795 shares of company stock valued at $4,589,269 over the last quarter. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Unum Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNM opened at $69.37 on Friday. Unum Group has a one year low of $41.86 and a one year high of $70.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a PE ratio of 7.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.06.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

Unum Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.