Unum Group $UNM Stock Bought by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 42,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,886 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $3,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $84,097,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,064,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,273,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,065,000. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,412,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $81.09 on Wednesday. Unum Group has a one year low of $69.02 and a one year high of $96.77. The company has a market cap of $12.57 billion, a PE ratio of 57.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.09.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 12.57%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.5050 dividend. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is 143.26%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNM has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Unum Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $98.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Unum Group from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Unum Group from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their price objective on Unum Group from $109.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Unum Group from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.67.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CAO Lynn Jr sold 2,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.31, for a total value of $206,350.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,154 shares in the company, valued at $769,003.74. This trade represents a 21.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Iglesias sold 4,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.44, for a total value of $377,760.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,403,781.32. This trade represents a 13.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 10,488 shares of company stock valued at $988,396 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Unum Group Profile

Unum Group is an insurance holding company that provides employee benefits and related services, primarily to employers and their workers. Its offerings include group disability and life insurance, accident and critical illness coverage, and services that help employers manage employee leave and workplace absence. Through its Unum and Colonial Life businesses, the company also provides voluntary benefits that employees can elect through their workplaces. In the United Kingdom, Unum offers workplace benefits including income protection, life insurance and critical illness coverage.