Qsemble Capital Management LP Purchases New Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 21,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,258,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 89.8% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,207,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,728,000 after buying an additional 571,436 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 62.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,119,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,237,000 after purchasing an additional 432,240 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,640,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 106.4% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 233,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,915,000 after purchasing an additional 120,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Unum Group by 183.5% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 170,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,694,000 after purchasing an additional 110,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 5.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.61, for a total transaction of $363,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 165,709 shares of company stock worth $10,956,914. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on UNM shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective (up from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.73.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM opened at $76.20 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $64.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $41.97 and a twelve month high of $76.72. The firm has a market cap of $13.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.25, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.76.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted 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 return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Unum Group’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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.