CWA Asset Management Group LLC Acquires 31,783 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 135.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,783 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $4,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth $341,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Unum Group by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Unum Group by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Unum Group by 4.6% in the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 36,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after buying an additional 1,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,554,000 after acquiring an additional 156,380 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total value of $320,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,768,822.56. This trade represents a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total transaction of $769,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,827 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,292.84. This trade represents a 15.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 107,914 shares of company stock valued at $7,998,745 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.5 %

UNM stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $73.50. 131,423 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 803,050. The company has a market capitalization of $13.42 billion, a PE ratio of 7.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $44.83 and a twelve month high of $77.63.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on UNM. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.09.

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.