California Public Employees Retirement System Boosts Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 50.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 831,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 277,401 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $60,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Barrett & Company Inc. raised its stake in Unum Group by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in Unum Group by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This trade represents a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on UNM. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.62.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $82.02 on Wednesday. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $48.38 and a 1 year high of $84.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $77.91 and its 200 day moving average is $71.63. The company has a market cap of $14.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 17.74%.

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.