Aviance Capital Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,870 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Unum Group were worth $3,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,636,000. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lifted its position in Unum Group by 19.1% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,491 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $693,000 after buying an additional 3,131 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $300,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth about $19,617,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on UNM shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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 upped their price objective on Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James raised Unum Group from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.62.

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Unum Group Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Unum Group stock traded up $1.36 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $78.69. 1,618,377 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,151,730. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $75.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $48.38 and a 1-year high of $83.96.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.74%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

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

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.