Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) EVP Sells $579,250.00 in Stock

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,588,751. The trade was a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Unum Group Stock Down 4.2 %

Unum Group stock traded down $3.44 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $77.95. 2,639,632 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,151,049. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $14.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.23, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.10 and a 200 day moving average of $68.02. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $48.38 and a 12-month high of $83.96.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS 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 anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 17.74%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,003,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,496,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,078 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth $113,962,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth $105,199,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,096,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNM. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.83.

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.