Boston Common Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,373 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $5,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 55,014 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Unum Group by 89.8% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Unum Group by 5.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $30,297,000 after buying an additional 307,175 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 156,380 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of UNM stock opened at $75.02 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $73.60 and a 200 day moving average of $62.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $45.23 and a 1-year high of $77.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.81.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. 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 2.24%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 54,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,292.84. This trade represents a 15.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $227,565.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,554,355.24. The trade was a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 107,914 shares of company stock valued at $7,998,745 over the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNM. Barclays increased their price objective on Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.45.

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.