Entropy Technologies LP Takes $340,000 Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $340,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 361.5% in 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 bought a new position in Unum Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Unum Group during the third quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $581,591.16. This represents a 15.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $1,030,957.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 38,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,798,849.90. This trade represents a 26.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 91,844 shares of company stock valued at $5,411,032 in the last 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $73.19 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $61.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $41.86 and a 52-week high of $73.24. The stock has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a PE ratio of 7.92, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.76.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNM. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.73.

Unum Group 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.