Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. Sells 1,500 Shares of Stock

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,591.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM opened at $69.45 on Friday. Unum Group has a one year low of $41.86 and a one year high of $70.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.18. 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 has a market capitalization of $12.68 billion, a PE ratio of 7.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 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 the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UNM. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 target price (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.09.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter worth about $1,130,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 80.7% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 64,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,436,000 after buying an additional 28,580 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 8.0% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 872,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,609,000 after acquiring an additional 64,661 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Unum Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $703,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Unum Group by 54.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 78,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,150,000 after acquiring an additional 27,599 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

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.