Stephens Inc. AR Decreases Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 850 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $326,950,000 after buying an additional 55,014 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 5.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 66,392 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Unum Group by 151.7% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 509,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,297,000 after purchasing an additional 307,175 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,554,000 after purchasing an additional 156,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 24.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 325,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,365,000 after purchasing an additional 64,062 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on UNM shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price target on Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.33.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $75.18 on Thursday. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $47.65 and a 1 year high of $79.43. 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 firm has a market cap of $13.73 billion, a PE ratio of 7.94, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.87.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. Analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 5,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.61, for a total transaction of $363,050.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,840 shares in the company, valued at $2,602,342.40. The trade was a 12.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total value of $769,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 54,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,292.84. This trade represents a 15.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 83,865 shares of company stock valued at $6,315,082. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

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.