Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Director Gloria C. Larson Sells 10,000 Shares

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Director Gloria C. Larson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.50, for a total value of $745,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 121,491 shares in the company, valued at $9,051,079.50. This represents a 7.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $75.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.76. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $41.97 and a twelve month high of $76.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. Unum Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, 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. Four equities research 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Unum Group during the 1st quarter worth $1,130,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Unum Group by 80.7% during the first 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. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in Unum Group by 8.0% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 872,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,609,000 after purchasing an additional 64,661 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $703,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,945,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

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.