Lane & Associates LLC Acquires 564 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Lane & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 12.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the period. Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 361.5% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group in the second quarter worth $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Unum Group in the third quarter worth $31,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Unum Group during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Unum Group during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other news, 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 transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total transaction of $104,340.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,591.16. The trade was a 15.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 165,709 shares of company stock valued at $10,956,914. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNM opened at $75.84 on Friday. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $41.97 and a 12-month high of $76.31. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.66.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on UNM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upped 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.