Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Makes New Investment in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 13,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $963,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Barrett & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:UNM traded down $0.31 on Tuesday, reaching $83.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,510,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,181,840. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $48.38 and a 12-month high of $83.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $77.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.66. The firm has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program 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 buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued 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 2.02%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target 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. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.62.

Unum Group 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.