Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Holdings Lowered by Pitcairn Co.

Pitcairn Co. cut its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 560 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,554,000 after buying an additional 156,380 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Unum Group by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 5,047 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 3rd quarter worth $1,074,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth $8,816,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $405,481,000 after purchasing an additional 51,744 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.86.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,588,751. The trade was a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Unum Group Price Performance

UNM stock opened at $71.14 on Friday. Unum Group has a one year low of $48.38 and a one year high of $84.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.58 billion, a PE ratio of 7.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. On average, analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

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

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.