First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Raises Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 26.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,913 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Unum Group by 361.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.1 %

UNM opened at $64.12 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $59.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.61. The company has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.94, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.76. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $41.75 and a 52 week high of $64.91. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Unum Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Unum Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group raised Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their target price on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 target price (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.09.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $541,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

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.