XTX Topco Ltd Acquires New Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,669 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $414,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Unum Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Unum Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $974,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Unum Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 9,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. This trade represents a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UNM. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock 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 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.36.

Unum Group Price Performance

UNM traded down $0.77 on Friday, reaching $78.57. 1,111,930 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,304,718. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $77.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.83. The stock has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 8.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $48.38 and a twelve month high of $84.48.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. Sell-side analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.74%.

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.