Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $1.85 Million Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Unum Group by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,496,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,078 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,003,918,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,481,000 after acquiring an additional 51,744 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,462,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,837,000 after acquiring an additional 276,655 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,264,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,383,000 after buying an additional 392,191 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNM. Barclays lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Unum Group Trading Down 10.2 %

NYSE UNM opened at $71.14 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $78.19 and its 200-day moving average is $72.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.51, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. Unum Group has a one year low of $48.38 and a one year high of $84.48.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.74%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.