KBC Group NV Purchases 444 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 10.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 38.2% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 2.2% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 10,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 2.8% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 8,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XML Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 19,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE UNM opened at $72.06 on Wednesday. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $41.97 and a 52 week high of $73.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.80, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.24.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. Unum Group’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Unum Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group upgraded Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 price objective (up from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This trade represents a 5.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total transaction of $320,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,768,822.56. The trade was a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 91,844 shares of company stock valued at $5,411,032 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

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.