Xponance Inc. Sells 4,103 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Xponance Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 16.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,103 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UNM. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Unum Group by 89.8% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,207,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,728,000 after purchasing an additional 571,436 shares during the period. Auxier Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 59,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,022,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 80,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,091,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 4,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Unum Group by 9.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 413,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,127,000 after buying an additional 35,723 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $58.65 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $54.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.91. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $41.75 and a 1-year high of $59.01. 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 market cap of $10.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.71, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.77.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued 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 business had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.48 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This is a boost from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.96%.

Insider Activity

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UNM. Truist Financial raised their price target 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. Citigroup increased their price target on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays initiated coverage on Unum Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Unum Group from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.80.

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.