Sanctuary Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 2.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 22,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 469 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Unum Group during the third quarter worth about $37,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in Unum Group by 38.2% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on UNM. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised their price target on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 54,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total value of $320,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,768,822.56. This represents a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 107,914 shares of company stock valued at $7,998,745 in the last 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM opened at $72.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.79, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.79. 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 1 year low of $44.32 and a 1 year high of $77.63. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.67.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.54 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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.