Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stake Lessened by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. lowered its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 54.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,282 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNM. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 41,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,020,000 after acquiring an additional 3,870 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,636,000. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors increased its position in Unum Group by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 7,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,131 shares during the period. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth about $300,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.5 %

UNM stock opened at $79.05 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $75.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.62. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $83.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.74%.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James upgraded Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.62.

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.