Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 89.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,813 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.06% of Unum Group worth $6,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in Unum Group by 4.3% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 162,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,725,000 after buying an additional 6,674 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,130,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Unum Group by 20.5% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 411,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,078,000 after purchasing an additional 69,928 shares during the period. BOKF NA lifted its stake in Unum Group by 1.6% during the first quarter. BOKF NA now owns 41,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,251,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 5.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 105,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,679,000 after buying an additional 5,356 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:UNM opened at $75.83 on Friday. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $41.97 and a 1 year high of $76.31. The stock has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.49.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $227,565.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,554,355.24. The trade was a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $104,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $581,591.16. This represents a 15.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 165,709 shares of company stock valued at $10,956,914. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNM has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays increased their target price on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.73.

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.