J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 377 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Unum Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 16,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 1,476 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on UNM shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on 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 started coverage on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Unum Group in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Unum Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $56.40 on Wednesday. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $41.75 and a 12-month high of $58.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.38, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a boost from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.96%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.