Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,500,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 55,014 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 3.01% of Unum Group worth $326,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $61,728,000 after purchasing an additional 571,436 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 5.9% in 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 buying an additional 66,392 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 872,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,609,000 after buying an additional 64,661 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 413,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,127,000 after buying an additional 35,723 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 20.5% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 411,467 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,078,000 after acquiring an additional 69,928 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on UNM shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America increased their target price on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Unum Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.73.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Unum Group stock traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,758,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,493,110. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.66. The company has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.76. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.97 and a fifty-two week high of $76.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Unum Group's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm's 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 trade represents a 5.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.61, for a total value of $363,050.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,602,342.40. This represents a 12.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 165,709 shares of company stock valued at $10,956,914 in the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.