Schroder Investment Management Group Sells 65,328 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Schroder Investment Management Group cut its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 271,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 65,328 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $19,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in Unum Group by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 4,450 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 25,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,846,000 after buying an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth $7,533,000. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Unum Group by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,003,918,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unum Group Trading Up 1.1 %

UNM stock opened at $82.93 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.76, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $48.38 and a 1-year high of $84.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.90.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. Research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.74%.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at $2,588,751. This trade represents a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.86.

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.