Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 395,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,627 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.21% of Unum Group worth $20,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Unum Group by 7.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in Unum Group by 2.2% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 10,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Unum Group by 1.8% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Unum Group by 20.4% during the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Unum Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $58,601,422.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were 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 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Unum Group Price Performance

UNM opened at $58.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $55.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.99. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $41.75 and a 12-month high of $59.44.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. Unum Group’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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 given a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 24.96%.

Unum Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.