LPL Financial LLC Boosts Stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 297,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,890 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.16% of Unum Group worth $21,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,542,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Unum Group by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Unum Group by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 397,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,015,000 after purchasing an additional 29,148 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 300,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,968,000 after buying an additional 76,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on UNM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. This trade represents a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $79.95 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.32. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $48.38 and a 12 month high of $84.48.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 17.74%.

Unum Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group 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.