Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Price Target Cut to $63.00

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) had its target price trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $65.00 to $63.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on UNM. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an overweight rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $66.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $63.60.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM stock opened at $61.55 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $55.52 and its 200 day moving average is $53.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $11.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.77. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $41.75 and a 52-week high of $61.70.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. This is a positive change from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 24.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,464.31. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Unum Group by 361.5% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Unum Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

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.