Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 15,874 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,302,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,874 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 2.85% of Unum Group worth $271,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UNM shares. Barclays began coverage on Unum Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Unum Group news, 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 transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were 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 $58,601,422.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of UNM stock opened at $56.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.77. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $41.75 and a 12-month high of $58.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $54.14 and a 200-day moving average of $52.54.

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

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. This is a positive change from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Unum Group’s payout ratio is presently 24.96%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign 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.