State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 39,017 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 37.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 65,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 39,017 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $3,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at $1,130,000. Boone Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC now owns 961,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,486,000 after buying an additional 94,096 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 950,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000,000 after buying an additional 33,454 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 973,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,021,000 after buying an additional 292,917 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 80.7% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 64,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,436,000 after buying an additional 28,580 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on UNM. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.90.

Unum Group Stock Performance

UNM stock opened at $56.40 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $54.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a PE ratio of 8.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.77. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $41.75 and a 1-year high of $58.17.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. This is a positive change from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 24.96%.

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.