Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Invests $230,000 in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,143 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Unum Group by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,206 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 351,465 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,667,000 after acquiring an additional 2,492 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,838 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Unum Group by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at $249,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE UNM traded up $3.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $81.34. The company had a trading volume of 2,398,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,149,822. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $14.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.59, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $75.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.18. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $48.38 and a 12-month high of $83.96.

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

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 reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Unum Group's payout ratio is 17.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNM. Raymond James raised Unum Group from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $79.00 price objective (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.