Waterfront Wealth Inc. Raises Stock Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 12.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,658 shares during the period. Waterfront Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNM. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Unum Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,130,000. Boone Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC now owns 961,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,486,000 after purchasing an additional 94,096 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Unum Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 950,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000,000 after purchasing an additional 33,454 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Unum Group by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 973,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,021,000 after purchasing an additional 292,917 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at $590,489,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Unum Group in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.78.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE UNM traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $55.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,103,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 980,657. Unum Group has a one year low of $41.75 and a one year high of $58.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.81.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.14. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a positive change from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.96%.

Unum Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Company 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.