Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Increases Stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 37.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,623 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,568,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Down 1.2 %

Unum Group stock opened at $81.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $48.38 and a 1-year high of $83.96. The company has a market cap of $14.84 billion, a PE ratio of 8.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.83.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 17.74%.

Unum Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI raised Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com lowered Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five research 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.83.

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.