77,195 Shares in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 77,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,945,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Unum Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,590,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $931,109,000 after buying an additional 300,840 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth about $590,489,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 51.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,961,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,776 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,017,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,225,000 after purchasing an additional 291,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Unum Group in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.78.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Unum Group stock opened at $55.14 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $53.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.19, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.81. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $41.75 and a 52-week high of $58.17.

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

Unum Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. This is a positive change from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is presently 24.96%.

Unum Group 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.