Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Raises Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 5.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 31,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter valued at $31,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on UNM shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 price objective (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Unum Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.09.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total transaction of $104,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,591.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $227,565.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,554,355.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $104,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,591.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 77,545 shares of company stock valued at $4,380,074. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.5 %

UNM opened at $71.30 on Wednesday. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.86 and a fifty-two week high of $71.42. 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 capitalization of $13.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.72, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.51.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.