Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C Invests $565,000 in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 11,057 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $565,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,590,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $931,109,000 after buying an additional 300,840 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Unum Group by 51.7% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,961,539 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $158,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,776 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Unum Group by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,017,367 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $91,225,000 after purchasing an additional 291,757 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Unum Group by 89.8% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,207,756 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,728,000 after purchasing an additional 571,436 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Unum Group by 62.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,119,870 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $57,237,000 after purchasing an additional 432,240 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unum Group Stock Performance

UNM stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $58.46. The company had a trading volume of 74,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,241,358. The firm has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $41.75 and a 12 month high of $58.69. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $54.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.85.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.96%.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,507,464.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 1,065,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Unum Group in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Barclays started coverage on shares of Unum Group in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.90.

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.