EP Wealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 1.0% in the 3rd 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 during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Unum Group by 89.8% in 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 buying an additional 571,436 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 5.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,186,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,511,000 after buying an additional 66,392 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $30,297,000 after acquiring an additional 307,175 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 413,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,127,000 after acquiring an additional 35,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $73.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.99, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $69.03 and its 200 day moving average is $59.06. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $43.26 and a 52 week high of $77.63. 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 (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,768,822.56. This trade represents a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 58,865 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total transaction of $4,437,832.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,007,003 shares in the company, valued at $75,917,956.17. This trade represents a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 107,914 shares of company stock valued at $7,998,745. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNM. Evercore ISI raised Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.64.

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.