Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday morning.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on UNM. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Unum Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.33.

Unum Group Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:UNM opened at $74.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.80. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $48.28 and a twelve month high of $79.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 17.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total transaction of $769,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,827 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,292.84. This represents a 15.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 58,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total value of $4,437,832.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,007,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,917,956.17. This represents a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 83,865 shares of company stock worth $6,315,082. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,500,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,950,000 after buying an additional 55,014 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Unum Group by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,554,000 after purchasing an additional 156,380 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Unum Group by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,047 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Unum Group by 89.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 111,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,647,000 after purchasing an additional 52,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,074,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.