Covestor Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 24.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 499 shares during the quarter. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 38.2% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Unum Group by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 10,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Unum Group by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 8,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, XML Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 19,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Unum Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.09.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM stock opened at $70.22 on Tuesday. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $41.86 and a 12 month high of $71.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $60.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.36.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly 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. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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 2.39%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $104,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $581,591.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Unum Group news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $104,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,361 shares in the company, valued at $581,591.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $227,565.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,762 shares in the company, valued at $3,554,355.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 87,545 shares of company stock valued at $4,921,174. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

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.