Legal & General Group Plc Sells 49,992 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 420,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 49,992 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.23% of Unum Group worth $30,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its position in Unum Group by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Unum Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UNM. StockNews.com cut shares of Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Five 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.36.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE UNM traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,131,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,297,772. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $77.75 and a 200 day moving average of $73.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $48.38 and a twelve month high of $84.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.01, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46.

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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.74%.

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

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. This trade 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.

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.