Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Trims Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 48.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,943 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $188,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in Unum Group by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Unum Group by 2.2% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 10,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 12,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of 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 worth $493,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.73.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Unum Group stock opened at $76.90 on Monday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $65.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.56. The company has a market capitalization of $14.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.76. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $42.09 and a 12-month high of $77.63.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This trade represents a 5.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 15.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 165,709 shares of company stock valued at $10,956,914. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.