Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Takes $548,000 Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 9,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $548,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in Unum Group by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in Unum Group by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 10,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Unum Group by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 8,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Unum Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, XML Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 1.3% in the first quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 19,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,053,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:UNM traded up $0.95 on Friday, hitting $73.19. The stock had a trading volume of 1,523,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,384,618. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $41.86 and a 1 year high of $73.24. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $61.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.76.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. Unum Group's revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Unum Group's payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Unum Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNM. Evercore ISI raised shares of Unum Group from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial increased their price target on Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $66.00 price objective (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, Director Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,299 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $1,030,957.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 38,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,798,849.90. This represents a 26.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,601,422.64. This represents a 5.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 91,844 shares of company stock worth $5,411,032. Insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

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.