Acadian Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Acadian Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 99.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 114,717 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $57,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter worth about $1,130,000. Boone Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC now owns 961,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,486,000 after buying an additional 94,096 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 950,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000,000 after buying an additional 33,454 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 973,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,021,000 after buying an additional 292,917 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 80.7% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 64,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,436,000 after buying an additional 28,580 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,464.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,464.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $57.35 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $54.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.52, a PEG ratio of 0.83 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.06 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This is an increase from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is 24.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Unum Group in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.90.

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.