Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Increases Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 28.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 179 shares during the quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $58,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oak Thistle LLC boosted its stake in Unum Group by 362.9% in the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 19,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 15,257 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $796,000. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Unum Group by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $804,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at $251,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNM opened at $75.02 on Friday. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $45.23 and a twelve month high of $77.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $13.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $73.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.81.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. Unum Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $227,565.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,762 shares in the company, valued at $3,554,355.24. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total transaction of $104,340.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,591.16. The trade was a 15.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 107,914 shares of company stock worth $7,998,745 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Unum Group from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.45.

Unum Group Company Profile

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.