Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Cuts Stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 6.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $2,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,130,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 80.7% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 64,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,436,000 after buying an additional 28,580 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in Unum Group by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 872,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,609,000 after buying an additional 64,661 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Unum Group by 51.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,961,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter valued at about $703,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 target price (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,464.31. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $3,727,369.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 company insiders.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $61.67 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.21. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.75 and a fifty-two week high of $64.52. The company has a market capitalization of $11.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.77. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. Analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.96%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 leadership 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.