Arizona State Retirement System Sells 3,313 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,313 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Unum Group were worth $3,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Unum Group by 60.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,218 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Unum Group by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,147 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,393,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Unum Group by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,509 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.62.

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Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Unum Group Stock Performance

UNM traded down $0.95 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $77.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,339,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,153,446. The firm has a market cap of $13.73 billion, a PE ratio of 8.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $48.38 and a 12 month high of $83.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.06.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. Analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.74%.

Unum Group declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.