Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 156,868 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,456,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.09% of Unum Group as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $405,481,000 after purchasing an additional 51,744 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Unum Group by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,462,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $106,837,000 after purchasing an additional 276,655 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,264,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,383,000 after acquiring an additional 392,191 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised 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. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at $2,588,751. This trade represents a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts have issued reports on UNM shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Raymond James raised Unum Group from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.62.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Unum Group
Unum Group Trading Up 0.8 %
UNM traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,000,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,284,896. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $48.38 and a 1-year high of $83.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $76.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.91.
Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Unum Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Unum Group Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Unum Group's payout ratio is currently 17.74%.
About Unum Group
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Unum Group, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Unum Group wasn't on the list.
While Unum Group currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Just getting into the stock market? These 10 simple stocks can help beginning investors build long-term wealth without knowing options, technicals, or other advanced strategies.
Get This Free Report
