Montag A & Associates Inc. Purchases Shares of 3,410 Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,410 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Unum Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,500,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $326,950,000 after purchasing an additional 55,014 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Unum Group by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,186,262 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $70,511,000 after purchasing an additional 66,392 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Unum Group by 151.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 509,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,297,000 after purchasing an additional 307,175 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 156,380 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Unum Group by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 325,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,365,000 after purchasing an additional 64,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $79.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Unum Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total value of $769,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,827 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,292.84. This trade represents a 15.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Trading Down 1.0 %

UNM traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $74.07. The stock had a trading volume of 1,204,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,129,832. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.80. 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $74.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.75. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $48.38 and a 52 week high of $79.43.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Unum Group's payout ratio is 17.74%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.