Covestor Ltd Buys 431 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 27.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at $5,497,000. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 14,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 140,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,577,000 after purchasing an additional 27,826 shares during the period. Councilmark Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at $1,170,000. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at $8,988,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 4,500 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.47, for a total transaction of $236,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,952,067.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 8,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.61, for a total transaction of $420,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 37,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,973,138.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 4,500 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.47, for a total transaction of $236,115.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,952,067.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on UNM shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup raised 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.44.

Unum Group Price Performance

UNM traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $53.90. The company had a trading volume of 281,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,259,471. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.81. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $41.75 and a twelve month high of $54.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.53.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.15. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 16.02%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a boost from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 24.96%.

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.