Guggenheim Capital LLC Trims Stock Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Guggenheim Capital LLC trimmed its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 97.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 308,727 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Unum Group were worth $482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Unum Group by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,554,000 after acquiring an additional 156,380 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,047 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth $8,816,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Unum Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $405,481,000 after buying an additional 51,744 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 362.9% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 19,461 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,421,000 after buying an additional 15,257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Stock Down 1.0 %

Unum Group stock opened at $78.57 on Friday. Unum Group has a one year low of $48.38 and a one year high of $84.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.06 and a 200 day moving average of $74.04. 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 stock has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 8.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's payout ratio is 17.74%.

Insider Transactions 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at $2,588,751. This trade represents a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNM. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.36.

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.

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