Gloria C. Larson Sells 10,000 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Director Gloria C. Larson sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.50, for a total value of $745,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 121,491 shares in the company, valued at $9,051,079.50. This trade represents a 7.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $75.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $41.97 and a 52-week high of $76.31. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $63.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.76.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The business 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 company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,500,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,950,000 after purchasing an additional 55,014 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Unum Group by 89.8% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,207,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,728,000 after acquiring an additional 571,436 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Unum Group by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,186,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,511,000 after acquiring an additional 66,392 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 872,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,609,000 after buying an additional 64,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 151.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 509,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,297,000 after purchasing an additional 307,175 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 price target (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.73.

About Unum Group

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.