Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 300 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Unum Group by 361.5% during the 2nd 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 during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UNM shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays initiated coverage on Unum Group in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.90.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,464.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 value of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:UNM opened at $56.40 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a PE ratio of 8.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.54. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $41.75 and a 12 month high of $58.17.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.14. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. Unum Group’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.96%.

Unum Group announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Unum Group

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.