Weiss Asset Management LP Buys Shares of 17,676 Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,051,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Unum Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,500,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,950,000 after acquiring an additional 55,014 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 89.8% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,207,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,728,000 after purchasing an additional 571,436 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 5.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,186,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,511,000 after buying an additional 66,392 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 8.0% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 872,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,609,000 after buying an additional 64,661 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Unum Group by 151.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 509,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,297,000 after buying an additional 307,175 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unum Group Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $74.96 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $13.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.37. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $42.37 and a 12-month high of $77.63.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total value of $320,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,741 shares in the company, valued at $3,768,822.56. This represents a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $104,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $581,591.16. This trade represents a 15.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 107,914 shares of company stock worth $7,998,745 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI raised Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group upgraded Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.73.

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.