Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Has $8.42 Million Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,687 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned 0.09% of Unum Group worth $8,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the first quarter worth approximately $1,130,000. Boone Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC now owns 961,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,486,000 after buying an additional 94,096 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 950,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000,000 after buying an additional 33,454 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 973,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,021,000 after buying an additional 292,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $590,489,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNM opened at $54.15 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $53.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.31. The stock has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a PE ratio of 8.05, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.77. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.75 and a fifty-two week high of $58.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This is a boost from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 24.96%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UNM. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup boosted 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. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,464.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,464.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.