Aviance Capital Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 6.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,283 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $2,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at $590,489,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 583.3% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,025,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,420,000 after buying an additional 875,000 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 79.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,952,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,616,000 after buying an additional 866,531 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 2,441.3% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 540,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,567,000 after buying an additional 518,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,545,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,416,000 after buying an additional 313,482 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unum Group Price Performance

UNM stock traded up $0.03 on Monday, hitting $51.14. 80,343 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,261,539. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $41.75 and a 1-year high of $54.57. The stock has a market cap of $9.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.66 and a 200-day moving average of $49.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.15. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 16.02%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is presently 21.69%.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other news, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.61, for a total transaction of $420,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,973,138.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 8,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.61, for a total transaction of $420,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,973,138.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 4,500 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.47, for a total transaction of $236,115.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,952,067.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNM. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.89.

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.