Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 2,467 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 60.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,467 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $334,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UNM. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 3.5% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 259,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,996,000 after buying an additional 8,660 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 21,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 5,887 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 164,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,423,000 after purchasing an additional 5,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association grew its stake in Unum Group by 3.9% during the second quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 14,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.0 %

UNM stock opened at $55.02 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $41.75 and a twelve month high of $58.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $53.90 and its 200-day moving average is $52.42.

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

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. This is an increase from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.96%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Unum Group in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,601,422.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,601,422.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,464.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

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.