Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Earns Overweight Rating from Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reissued their overweight rating on shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $66.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $64.00.

UNM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Unum Group from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Unum Group in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an overweight rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $63.80.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $59.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $41.75 and a 1-year high of $59.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $54.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.93.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.14. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The business had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. Unum Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. This is a positive change from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 24.96%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter worth $1,130,000. Boone Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC now owns 961,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,486,000 after acquiring an additional 94,096 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 950,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000,000 after purchasing an additional 33,454 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 973,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,021,000 after purchasing an additional 292,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Unum Group by 80.7% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 64,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,436,000 after purchasing an additional 28,580 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.