Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 268,612 Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 268,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $19,617,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.15% of Unum Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UNM. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth about $11,456,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,462,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,837,000 after acquiring an additional 276,655 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,481,000 after acquiring an additional 51,744 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth about $234,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth about $91,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This trade represents a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UNM. StockNews.com lowered Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.62.

Unum Group Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of UNM stock opened at $78.99 on Monday. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $48.38 and a 1 year high of $83.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.55. The company has a market cap of $13.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. Research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 17.74%.

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.